The truck has been pulling up in my neighborhood every day now for weeks, a harbinger of a California spring as sure as any Eastern robin. She parks, puts up a wooden sign reading "Oxnard, fresh," and the picture - no more is necessary - and sets out her wares. They're ripe, red, and fresh. If I ask her how long ago they were picked, she says "hours" or "this morning," and indeed they're field-warm. I hand over six dollars for three pints, and soon the red juice runs down my chin as I ingest methyl iodide.
Methyl iodide is a known neurotoxin. It disrupts thyroid function, damages developing fetuses, and has caused lung tumors in laboratory animals. And it's the fumigant of choice for strawberry fields. Strawberries are my agricultural county's top-grossing crop, not to mention my favorite fruit. In twin politically charged decisions in which disappointed scientists accused political appointees of ignoring facts, methyl iodide was approved by both the Bush-era federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Schwarzenegger-era state Department of Pesticide Regulation. Now, both the federal EPA and Governor Jerry Brown are reconsidering. Comments to the EPA close tomorrow, April 29 - please comment today.
Credo has a petition to sign, or you can submit a comment directly to the EPA. Tell the EPA:
Please follow the science on methyl iodide and suspend and cancel all uses of methyl iodide (iodomethane) in the United States. Scientists across the country have studied and spoken about the dangers of this pesticide, which is a neurotoxin, endocrine disruptor, and carcinogen. Agricultural uses present unacceptable risks to farmworkers, wildlife, and surrounding populations. Methyl iodide is simply too toxic to be used safely as a soil fumigant pesticide, and has no place in American agriculture.
I can, and often do, buy organic berries from the farmers' market. Sometimes six pints leave the market but only five pints make it home as I snack on ripe red berries. Sometimes I make desserts. A favorite pie combines both of my agricultural county's top grossing products, strawberries and lemons, and is easy to make: bake a pie shell, spread the lemon curd in the shell, slice strawberries and arrange decoratively in the shell, and top with powdered sugar or a simple glaze.
Light lemon curd
1/3 C. sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1/3 C. lemon juice - try to use Meyer lemons if possible
Whisk together in heavy saucepan on low heat until sugar is dissolved. Add:
1-2 Tbsp. butter
In a separate bowl, beat 1 egg lightly, then add it to the pan, tempering. (If you don't know what "tempering" means, review on teh googel before attempting this recipe.) Keep on whisking constantly on low heat; do not let the egg white coagulate. After about 5 minutes of whisking, the mixture will take on a jammy consistency. Let it cool in the pan before spreading in the pie shell.
However, my purchase of organic berries won't help my nieces. They live in an apartment building adjacent to a non-organically grown strawberry field. California prohibits application of methyl iodide too close to playgrounds and schools.
Sometimes people are caught violating rules, and sometimes, I suspect, they simply break the rules. It's better to ban methyl iodide altogether.
Farmers can grow organic strawberries profitably.
My nieces will thank you for your comment to the EPA.