Methyl iodide due for use in CA’s first strawberry field today. Send your e-mail to Governor Jerry Brown NOW!

Last week, Santa Barbara County officials approved the application of cancer-causing methyl iodide on a 5-acre farm outside the town of Santa Maria on California’s central coast. For the first time in the state, this pesticide will be used to fumigate strawberry fields.

The permit was delayed until today, but Gov. Jerry Brown needs to take decisive action NOW and pull this cancer-causer off the market. What is he waiting for?

Click on the green "participate" button on the top right to send your e-mail TODAY. Urge Brown to ban methyl iodide. He can do it, if he chooses to—in fact, he said he’d act when he came into office. Earlier this spring, he promised to “take a fresh look” at the Schwarzenegger Administration’s controversial decision to approve the pesticide for agricultural use despite a clear message from the state’s own independent Scientific Review Committee that this known carcinogen has no safe place in agriculture.

Scientists have called methyl iodide “one of the most toxic chemicals on earth.” In addition to causing cancer, it is known to induce late-term miscarriages and cause permanent neurological damage.

Farmworkers face the most serious health risks from methyl iodide, as they are exposed twice during the fumigation process. And neighboring communities – especially children – also face increased health threats as the pesticide is airborne and drifts to where residents live, work and play.

Act now! Join United Farm Workers, PAN, and other groups in urging Gov. Brown to stand up for the health of farmworkers and neighboring communities. Governor Brown needs to act before more communities face methyl iodide exposures.