Methyl Iodide and Publix Fast for Fair Food

Methyl Iodide pulled from US market.

Toxic pesticide, Methyl Iodide, pulled from American markets. 

Back in 2010, Methyl Bromide, a commonly used pesticide for fumigation, was slated to be phased out due to the International Montreal Protocol treaty due to depletion of the ozone layer. Methyl iodide was proposed to replace methyl bromide for use as an agricultural fumigant common in strawberry production. Despite controversy and heavy campaigning against the registering of the newly proposed fumigant by environmentalist and environmental justice activists, Methyl Iodide was recently registered in 2011 within the state of California for accepted fumigant use. 

Methyl iodide, a known carcinogen, was recently pulled fromthe market by its makers due to ‘financial reasons’. We welcomed back Paul Towers from Pesticide Action Network to Local Dirt Radio to give us a look into the campaign to prevent methyl iodide from becoming a registered agriculture fumigant over the past several years.

Liz Fitzgerald, Community Organizer with the CIW.

Florida: Fast for Fair Food at Publix Supermarkets. 

Liz Fitzgerald, former UC Davis student and community organizer with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and the Student/Farmworker Alliance, just returned from Florida to help support further campaigning against Publix, one of the largest supermarket chains in North America. We welcome Liz back on to Local Dirt to provide an update on the latest CIW victory with Trader Joes and the progress the CIW has made with the Campaign for Fair Food, encouraging larger corporate food buyers to pay one penny more per pound for all of the tomatoes harvested in the Immokalee, FL region, where farmworkers have historically been living and working in unjust conditions.

Be sure to check out Liz's latest musical contributions to the Campaign for Fair Food below!

Announcements!

• Check out the UC Davis Russell Ranch Barn Dance on Friday, April 13th from 7-11pm! Contra Dancing and live music with Driving with Fergus! Potluck!
• Tours of the UC Davis Student Farm are happening this week! Wednesday, April 4th, 10-11am. Thursday, April 5th, 10-11am. Friday April 7th, 3-4pm.
• The UC Davis Farmers Market is re-launching this spring. Stop by the Silo Patio between 10am-2:30pm on Wednesday, April 4th! Free food, live entertainment, buttons, art, facepainting and more!

Music!

Music on this week's show featured the following artists: 

• Bon Iver, Bon Iver
• The Shins, Wincing the Night Away

LISTEN UP!

To listen to this week's show, visit this show link! Enjoy!
You can also download the audio file by right clicking the link and saving it to your hard drive!