Farmworkers and their advocates are on Capitol Hill Tuesday pushing for tougher federal rules for pesticide application and worker protection in America’s fields.
Regulations for pesticide use and safety haven’t changed in twenty years.
In 2004, several women who had worked in tomato fields in Florida while they were pregnant delivered babies with birth defects. Farmworker advocates said improper exposure to pesticides was likely the cause.
Jeanne Economos with the Farmworker’s Association of Florida said enforcement of current rules governing pesticide application and exposure is lax.
“We have 39 inspectors that are responsible for about 40 thousand agricultural operations in the state,” Economos said. “And we find of lots of violations of the current existing worker protections.”
Economos said improper exposure to pesticides harms 10 to 20 thousand agricultural workers every year…the people who harvest America’s food.
“I want to people to know that every time they pick up an orange, or pick up a tomato in their local grocery store they are not aware of it but they are being directly connected to the farmworker that harvested that food,” she said. “The people that harvested that food are putting their lives at risk through pesticide exposure and other hazards so we can have food to eat.”
The Environmental Protection Agency writes the rules. The state of Florida is charged with enforcing them.
