Florida-The politics of pesticides

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The politics of pesticides

Palm Beach Post Editorial

Monday, December 26, 2005

Florida farmers use more pesticides per acre than anywhere else in the

nation. Where all those chemicals end up is largely unknown.

Some residue remains on fruits and vegetables. The state's sandy soil makes

it possible for chemicals to leach into water tables. Farmworkers,

especially those who work for irresponsible growers, run the risk of

carrying pesticides on their clothing and bodies into their homes.

Floridians know less about possible pesticide contamination than they should

because the state essentially relies on the honor system for regulation.

With about 40 inspectors to monitor all commercial agriculture in Florida,

it is impossible to do an effective job enforcing rules on chemical use.

An inherent conflict of interest exacerbates enforcement problems. The state

entrusts primary regulation to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer

Services, instead of health officials. The agency has ties to agrochemical

companies and farmers.

The Post recently interviewed four former state scientists who described a

politicized system in which agrochemical companies shape decision-making and

growers are left to regulate themselves.

" The monitoring of pesticide use in Florida has become make-believe, " said

Simons, a former environmental specialist for the agriculture

department. " It is Disney-esque. " The scientists interviewed were all hired

in the 1980s and said their influence on pesticide regulation diminished

during the 1990s.

Superiors routinely overruled their recommendations, and political

expediency trumped scientific research. The scientists accuse state

agriculture officials of hiding pesticide-related dangers from the public.

None of those officials was willing to comment for The Post story or rebut

the allegations.

In April, The Post reported the tragic discovery of three children with

severe birth defects whose mothers were migrant farmworkers in Immokalee.

The mothers say they were exposed to pesticides. Links between the exposure

and the defects are inconclusive, but some state legislators are interested

enough to support adding pesticide inspectors next session.

The need for more inspectors is obvious. The Legislature can get the most

out of the positions by assigning them to the state health department and

requiring that agency to give Floridians the protection that agriculture

officials have failed to provide.