Re: Strawberries in Florida
At 12:08 PM 3/6/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Strawberry production is not much different in Florida than in California.
>Major methyl bromide use, plastic mulch culture, intense fungicide use,
>larger overall pesticide use per acre than California. (Strawberries have
>the largest pesticide use per acre in Claifornia) Consumer level residue
>profile also dirty.
>Some figures on Florida strawberry pesticide use:
>97% of acres fumigated with methyl bromide.
>87% of acres treated with paraquat (herbicide)
>82% of acres treated with methomyl (carbamate insecticide)
>99% of acres treated with captan (fungicide: prob. human carcinogen)
>5,800 acres total:
>5,000 pounds of herbicides annually
>~50,000 pounds of insecticides
>350,000 pounds of fungicides
>1,100,000 of fumigants (methyl bromide)
>Source: USDA NASS Agricultural Chemical Usage: Vegetables, 1994 Summary.
>There is no pesticide use reporting system in Florida so it is impossible
>to quantify or even estimate human exposure to these pesticides. Most
>Florida berries are grown in a small area near Plant City, FL between Tampa
>and Orlando. See EWG's website for more info on strawberries
>(http://www.ewg.org): "A Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce" and
>methyl bromide reports. Anyone want to write the Journal Constituion a
>letter or an Op-Ed?
>ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP
>1718 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 600
>Washington, D.C. 20009
>EWG web page: http://www.ewg.org
>202-667-6982 fax 202-232-2592
>Any opinions expressed are mine and not my employer's.
Thanks Kert. A letter was what I had in mind. But I'd like to be able to
offer an alternative organic source for strawberries in Florida or Georgia,
so that the letter does not have an entirely negative tone.
Anyone know of any?
Lance F. Howard
Department of History and Geography
Clemson University, Clemson SC 29634