A New Strategy to Permanently Halt Light-brown Apple Moth Spraying in California Without Consent

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By John Russo
Farmer and Beekeeper
Carmel Valley

On May 13th in Monterey County, a new independent lawsuit challenged the state of emergency imposed by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) for the Light-brown Apple Moth (LBAM) eradication program. It legally declared that conditions of an emergency had not been met. It further requires an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) prior to resuming the program in Monterey County. This lawsuit follows on the heels of a similar suit in Santa Cruz County and is a second blow to the CDFA’s poorly-planned and poorly-executed program.

This is a major victory for all of us concerned about the program. Buoyed by the success of the legal process, StopTheSpray.org announces our legislative strategy to permanently halt the CDFA use of pesticides over human populations to eradicate (LBAM).

The Light-brown Apple Moth (LBAM) was officially discovered in California in 2007 although it may have been in residence in the state for up to 30 years. The CDFA declared an administrative emergency, established quarantine zones and launched a multi-million dollar eradication program. The eradication program, which includes residential and urban areas, is at least in part motivated by international trade issues.

Of particular concern is that the chemicals used have never been tested for use on humans and have never before been applied on such a large scale and over human populations. Long-term effects on human health and the environment are unknown and highly controversial, and over 640 health complaints have been identified. The CDFA aerial spray campaign is scheduled to resume and expand into the larger Bay Area in the summer of 2008 with monthly applications until the total eradication of the moth –deemed impossible by most experts –until at least 2010.

StopTheSpray.org, is a grass-roots organization that represents over 26,000 individuals who insist on informed consent as a condition for pesticide spraying. StopTheSpray.org has long maintained that there are two integral components of any legislation that governs pesticide programs such as this: people must be informed, and they must consent. In other words, they must know what is going to happen to them, and they must agree to be exposed.