Use of chemicals confirmed at strawberry stand

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Use of chemicals confirmed at strawberry stand
By Amie Windsor, Staff Writer, [email protected] Jun 1, 2017

Owner says he ‘spot treats’ crops

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Sometimes, what the community loves and what the community values end up on opposing sides of the spectrum.

Take, for example, Lao’s Strawberries. The ever-loved strawberry stand, located on Highway 12, just east of the Sebastopol Grange, is a popular stopover for locals and tourists alike. Lao Saetern’s stand is known for its impossibly juicy, ever-red, super sweet strawberries, available from mid April through October.

However, the strawberries, as indicated by a report obtained from the Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner, undergo pesticide and insecticide treatment, a practice in contrast to west county ideals and values of organic, chemical-free food.

The report is also in contrast to what the strawberry stand told Sonoma West Times and News back in April, when we reported on the season opening of the stand.

According to the report, Saetern used Roundup Powermax and Roundup Weathermax herbicides, along with Acramite 50WS — a pesticide — on his 12 acres of strawberries 17 times between February 2015 and November 2016.

“We spot treat,” Saetern said. “We don’t spray the whole field.”

Saetern said he uses the pesticides and herbicides to fight off bugs and weeds that bring disease to the crops, such as spider mites and leaf blight.

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Thank-you Barry for this information.
I asked the people at the little building whether they spray the strawberries and was told that they do not and was given permission to walk to the fields in back. There I saw spray gear and spoke to several workers who told me that the spaces between the beds are regularly sprayed with Roundup (glyphosate) before the strawberries are planted. Although the workers correctly stated that the strawberry pants are not sprayed directly, this chemical stays in the soil, goes into groundwater and is taken up by the strawberry plants.

Food and Chemical Toxicologyindicates that glyphosate, the world's most widely used herbicide due to its widespread use in genetically engineered agriculture, is capable of driving estrogen receptor mediated breast cancer cell proliferation within the infinitesimal parts per trillion concentration range. [Siriporn Thongprakaisang, Apinya Thiantanawat, Nuchanart Rangkadilok, Tawit Suriyo, Jutamaad Satayavivad. Glyphosate induces human breast cancer cells growth via estrogen receptors. Food Chem Toxicol. 2013 Jun 8. Epub 2013 Jun 8. PMID: 23756170]

Well, this should not be too surprising to anyone. Strawberries are one of the most chemically-treated crops, period. I read that about 30 different chemicals/pesticides are used on strawberries commercially grown. It seems everyone loves to eat them, including all manner of pests.

It sounds like the grower is foreign-born and trusts the permission he gets from the ag dept. so cut him a little slack, folks. He just needs to learn the difference between organic and commercial and then tell the truth to his customers.

But all you organic-only eaters should ALWAYS wash your fruits and vegetables without fail. They are handled by humans and you don't know where or what those hands have been into.

The only reliable alternative is to grow your own. (Or shop at farmers' markets).

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Posted in reply to the post by Barry:

Use of chemicals confirmed at strawberry stand
By Amie Windsor, Staff Writer, [email protected] Jun 1, 2017
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These are deadly chemicals used by this strawberry grower and many vineyardists. One can grow berries without these poisons, but it is more labor intensive, and hence less profitable. One can strengthen their soil by physical labor to apply mulches and composts. For proof of such assertions, one can go to www.winewaterwatch.org.

I am not surprised that Lao uses chemicals, his strawberries are so perfect. Yes, there has to be something lost in translation here and he maybe doesn't get it. USGS did a study for 2 years on Roundup or glyphosate in June of 2010 that shows it stays in water for at least 6 months, after the 2 year study, residues were persistent in soil. Some reports show the poison stays in the soil and does not degrade for 20 years. We have that residue in breast milk, wine, children's vaccines and human urine now. California has just mandated labeling as "probable carcinogen". World Health Organization backs this up with science as well.

I was not familiar with Acramite 50WS (one of the products used by him in article) and you have to scroll down when you search "Acramite 50WS health risks" to see this has a persistent residue rate of 48%. Uniroyal, an ag company that uses conventional practices has stopped using it due to health risks so I really say I don't need 3 strikes to say no to his strawberries. Very sad, really liked supporting this immigrant success story but treasure my health. I know several years ago CAFF reached out to help Lao get certified organic. He needs to do this NOW.

There are pesticide use maps by concentration on this link:https://winewaterwatch.org/2017/02/s...pam-strayer-2/ and you can see we have plenty of chemicals sprayed in our area. I for one do NOT want any more. :thinking:

" I know several years ago CAFF reached out to help Lao get certified organic. He needs to do this NOW."

You mean, he needs to transition to organic practices (btw afaik there is no such thing as an organic bare-root strawberry plant on the market these days) and back it up with certification. I've read that a certification program for transition is coming sometime...

I think it's the Kashi owners that are now certifying transition to organic farmers. It should be on the market soon. They will label and pay the farmers more but not as much as organic producers. The demand is so high for organic that manufactures cannot keep up with demand. We vote with our dollars.

Anyone who goes to Lao's should urge him to contact CAFF (Community Alliance with Family Farmers) as they have funding and enormous resources for transitioning over to organic. They will help him through the process. CAFF's data bank is impressive.

I rarely drink wine as I know what is in it....way too many toxins that are not labeled and so many exposés on glyphosate (Roundup), inorganic arsenic and more. When I do, I go for real wine ( I consider watered grapes as grape product like John Williams does from Frog's Leap), dry farmed and organic like Frog's Leap, Wild Hog in Cazadero.

Thanks to Shepherd and O.W. for clarifying the effects of glyphosate and Acramite. It is not acceptable to me to eat fresh fruit or drink wine tainted by such poisons. Therefore, I'm buying only organic or select dry-farmed wines.Some years ago I did buy strawberries from the Highway 12 stand and they certainly are delicious. When asked, the person tending the booth said, "no spray". As there was no evidence of an organic or transitional operation, I decided to buy certified organic berries elsewhere.Why is Sonoma County so far behind other counties in its efforts to use fewer poisons on wine grapes? It feels as if we're living in the Wild West.

Boggles my mind that a strawberry stand, in front of a field that has been barren for years, is so popular. I thought the point of buying from a farmstand was it was being grown right there. People are way, way too trusting of food sources.

I guess no one notices that his non strawberry produce is displayed in commercial produce shipping containers?

I'd be sceptical he even grew them.

Below is a post I wrote for a thread about the strawberry field and the related spraying of vineyard poisons on Nextdoor Sebastopol. I was responding to a local grape grower who isn't convinced that glyphosate is a problem:

"I’m curious as to why you are so intent on pounding home the point that “organic” doesn’t mean no spray/no chemicals and that it may mean spraying more frequently. The issue here is not whether one sprays and how often, but what is being sprayed and who it harms. Organic and biodynamic operations are not spraying carcinogenic chemicals or using chemically-derived fertilizers, which rob the soil of fertility.

Glyphosate or RoundUp has just been mandated by the state of California to label the poison as a carcinogen. Even the World Health Organization has seen studies not done by Monsanto but actual peer-reviewed science, and they found the same results. (A carcinogen is defined as a substance capable of causing cancer in living tissue.) Sonoma County sprays, or shall I say dumps over 80,000 pounds of the concentrate just in vineyards yearly, 2.2 million pounds total of all chemicals yearly. Go to www.cdpr.ca.gov and look for yourself. Sonoma County is tied for number 3 in childhood cancer rates (www.kidsdata.org/cancer) and Napa is number 1. What do they share in common? Wine grapes and lots of ‘em.

Less than 2% of the acreage in Sonoma County vineyards are certified organic or biodynamic. The Sonoma County Winegrowers are guilty of the worst kind of greenwashing by touting their “bold committment” to “sustainability”, a marketing term they’ve awarded themselves which has nothing whatsoever to do with organic crop production. What they are actually committed to is continuing to use increasing amounts of poisons in their quest for ever-larger yields and profits.

There have been many exposés on residue pesticides, arsenic and Round Up in wines. And as far as strawberry pesticides go, for at least 20 years health-minded consumers have been advised that conventionally-grown strawberries and peanuts are on the top 10 worst to buy."

Think about how many persons you know personally who have cancer. It is no surprise. We have fouled our nest.

Glyphosate to be Listed under Proposition 65 as Known to the State to Cause Cancer

April 18, 2017, www.winewaterwatch.org

We are living in sacrifice zones for profits. Do corporations have the right to take away our health and future generations right to life when less dangerous products are available? Mendocino used 17, 627 pounds in vineyards in 2013, Napa used 50,416 pounds, and Sonoma used 84,606 pounds of concentrated glyphosate in their vineyards. Time to ban this product with Napa number one in cancer rates for children and Sonoma tied for third.

Alternate weed killer: one gallon white vinegar, 2 cups Epsom salts, quarter cup Dawn dish soap. Cheap and effective!

No corporations do not have a right to poison us for profits and take the future away for our kids just for short termed profit. Thanks for making that point Shepherd. Bad behavior like this is why the Community Bill of Rights is gaining steam across the country. CELDF has done a tremendous job helping communities take back their government from special interests.

I think it has become very apparent in our country with current cabal in power that we are a plutocracy run for and by special interests who only want the money and they can never get enough. Our entire country is a sacrifice zone!

Definiton sociopaths: noun, Psychiatry.

1. a person with a psychopathic personality whose behavior is antisocial, often criminal, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience.

Thanks Shepard,

Can you tell me/us how to use this combination ? Spray it on leaves or drench the roots or ....and will it leave a residue that would kill the next thing you might want to plant there ?
I just moved and my neighbors want the weeds gone.
I've been putting straight vinegar on the vinca roots and it's starting to die.

Joy

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Posted in reply to the post by Shepherd:

..Alternate weed killer: one gallon white vinegar, 2 cups Epsom salts, quarter cup Dawn dish soap. Cheap and effective!

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what is really in Dawn dish soap? Like, just because it works to wash oil off of sea life doesn't mean it's not toxic... plus there's fragrance, ew.

https://www.pg.com/productsafety/sea...&submit=Search

Glad to hear that the vinegar seems to be working, Joy. Some folks swear by boiling-hot water.

Here are more exact instructions for 2 recipes. The orange oil people think theirs works best. As far as Dawn dish soap goes, I'd rather use that than Roundup any day of the week.

Vinegar / Orange Oil Weed Be Gone
(from Kathy Tresch)

Ingredients:
20% vinegar
orange oil
Dawn dish soap (the blue stuff)

To make a gallon:
About 80% vinegar
20% orange oil
1 cup Dawn

Apply mid day when leaves are dry and air is warm.

Vinegar / Epsom Salt Weed Be Gone
(from Sonoma Beekeepers Group)

Ingredients:
1 gallon 10% vinegar
2 cups Epsom Salt
¼ cup Dawn dish soap

Mix and spray weeds early in the day for best effect. Wear Goggles and Gloves before handling vinegar and remember, that this mixture is deadly for amphibians like frogs, lizards and salamanders if you get any spray on them, so check your weeds before you start spraying this stuff.

Kathy Tresch, by the way, is a long-time farmer, whose husband's family has ranched on their land for many generations. She is a very credible source.

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Posted in reply to the post by O.W.:

...Vinegar / Orange Oil Weed Be Gone
(from Kathy Tresch)...

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You can also use 30 percent vinegar. You can dilute it as needed. It costs about $20 a gallon on line. You have to be very careful when you use it or dilute it. Don't get it in your eyes or lungs or skin. Drench or spray, see what works for you on the specific plant. Dawn and orange oil are great also.
Joe Hogan

I went over there today and spoke to his wife who's name I do not know. I had the CAFF info written on a piece of paper and gave it to her to give to Lao since she cannot read. She got very defensive when I mentioned the article. I did not engage in this with her, only kept repeating that I was glad they know about the article and to pass this info to Lao. I really feel for them since they struggle a lot to keep themselves afloat. But I am no longer buying strawberries from them.

So after reading all of this..i can say this YES there are SADLY TOO many TOXIC chemicals ALL over now ...ALL pesticides should be BANNED at this point and YES YOU can do something about it, they end up in our Water ways through the Earth and in our Air through evaporation etc...You can BOYCOTT all products that are labeled pesticides EVEN the LIE of "safe" ones ...for ANYTHING THAT KILLS Insects or other so called "pests" IS poison to MOST ALL other Life INCLUDING Humans ....plus WE are being bombarded with "geo engineering" TO BOOT ....Also You can write to your favorite "hardware store" and request that they NOT carry this poison garbage AT ALL ...or You WILL boycott their store TOO...Bless Infinite

Communities are standing up and saying no to chemicals and giving nature rights over corporate interest. Here is a CELDF press release from Oregon. Most Community Bill of Rights have been back east and focused on fracking chemicals and alot have won. Here is the link. Oregon was fighting aerial spraying for timber lands. We have the wine industry here pouring 2.2 million pounds a year in our vineyards.

Press Release: Lincoln County, OR, Adopts First-in-Nation Ban of Aerial Pesticide SprayMay 31, 2017
First-in-state to elevate community rights over corporate “rights” and recognize rights of nature

OREGON: The election results from Lincoln County, OR, are in: Lincoln residents adopted the first-in-the nation countywide Freedom from Aerial Sprayed Pesticides ordinance by 61 votes. Lincoln residents are the first in Oregon to secure people’s environmental and democratic rights, challenging the claimed “rights” of corporations. They are also the first to secure the rights of nature to exist and flourish, joining a growing number of communities across the U.S. and globally who are recognizing ecosystem rights. Measure 21-177 bans aerial sprayed pesticides as a violation of those rights.

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Posted in reply to the post by pixeee nation:

So after reading all of this..i can say this YES there are SADLY TOO many TOXIC chemicals ALL over now ...ALL pesticides should be BANNED at this point and YES YOU can do something about it, ...

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Recently US District Court Judge James Boasberg ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers was remiss in its approval of DAPL, and that the pipeline needs further environmental review.

Similarly, this small but significant victory in Oregon is indeed a rare bit of good news with profound, precedent-setting implications for local community rights everywhere. Likewise, it carries the financial hallmarks of yet another David & Goliath struggle: $16K vs. $300K, respectively! The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund takes aim at the roots of corporatocracy. Now to brace and prepare for the anticipated lawsuit from timber and chemical corporations who will likely throw more bad money after bad.

Will Parrish has a comprehensive, well-informed report on another big pipeline showdown shaping up just south of Lincoln County in Coos Bay. Proposed is the first Pacific Coast liquified natural gas terminal, intended for export:

https://www.bohemian.com/northbay/pi...nt?oid=3639890

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Posted in reply to the post by O.W.:

...Press Release: Lincoln County, OR, Adopts First-in-Nation Ban of Aerial Pesticide SprayMay 31, 2017
First-in-state to elevate community rights over corporate “rights” and recognize rights of nature...

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Are the stands near Petaluma, on Stony Point and Pet Blvd North operated by the same folks?

By the way.
The Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems at UC Santa Cruz has long experience with Organic Strawberry growers, and OG Strawberry Production research down on the Central Coast.
https://casfs.ucsc.edu/index.html
UCSC also has a fabulous "Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture", a six-month live-in course in Organic production, sales, cultural practices etc. 2017 is their 50th Anniversary in this endeavour. If you want to know more about it, you can contact me through here I guess ;)

If you haven't stopped there yet, Swantons Farms on Hwy 1 just North of Santa Cruz, near Davenport, is well worth a rest break. Pies, Shortcake, Jams, all with Certified Organic strawberries grown by them or their associated farms.
They've been Organic a long time and could be a resource for the farmers on Hwy 12 to connect with.

I'd have more sympathy with the Hwy 12 growers if they hadn't been misleading people for years by saying they were organic.

over and out

I'm curious if there is anyone mapping County vineyards as to Organic or not, Herbicides or not?
This would be a great resource for consumers and TOURISTS to leverage local vineyardists to reduce or eliminate Herbicides. Perhaps an informal signage program along our roads? "this vineyard sprays X, enjoy your wine".
I suppose this might run afoul of anti-disparagement laws Ag has lobbied into the state codes? Anyone have insights?
I see a lot of "sustainable" signs for wine, but that's rather like a "Natural" declaration, pretty meaningless.

OK, it's pretty simple on Google Maps to create a custom map, like This;
Herbicide Usage on Vineyards in Sonoma County
For now this is a fake map, showing a sample property which has no herbicide usage today. Click on the color-coded plot to see how Google displays info. Could be color-labeled for herbicides, pesticides, CCOF, OR TILTH, USDA, years organic, "no comment from grower", etc.

Later, for conventional farms, could color-label "burnt weeds observed", "spray-rig spotted", "Transitional to Organic" etc.

Pointing to documented pesticide-free farms might be one way to build a dataset while avoiding legal implications of calling-out corporate persons for usage of currently legal substances.

This was stream-of-consciousness, so may be headed for a topic all its own. Reply directly to me with ideas so this topic isn't cluttered by this.

Wine and Water Watch (www.winewaterwatch.org) has a list of organic and other vineyards that it recommends, though not a map, on its website.

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Posted in reply to the post by kane:

I'm curious if there is anyone mapping County vineyards as to Organic or not, Herbicides or not?...

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Is the strawberry stand on the north side of highway 12 near Sebastopol organic?

I am one of the gardeners for Children's Museum of Sonoma County . the kids love strawberries and we were getting NONE this spring
we are not certified organic but I guess needless to say we do not use pesticides or herbicides in our veggie garden.

so here's what I do so far (pill bugs ,pincer bugs,and some other funny looking bugs seem to be the big eaters, I removed all the MULCH from the berries including their natural "duff" ((normally accept on tomatoes, I love mulch and put it everywhere. we had co co mulch that also harbours mold)) the next step is personally lifting up and propping up all the berries so they do not touch the ground,any berry left touching the ground is pretty much doomed to be eaten by pill bugs primarily or small slugs.

I confess to hand killing many thousands of these animals. When I get to "heaven" I'm going to have some explaining to do!!

however now the kids are finding lots of big juicy Strawbs every day .if farms did this they would probably be like 10 or 20 bucks a lb!

good lucK! the Diatomecious earth we put down did not seem to be working on the sow bugs ,and seems to kill lady bugs quickly.

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Posted in reply to the post by BobHeisler:

Is the strawberry stand on the north side of highway 12 near Sebastopol organic?

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No! That's what the fuss is about.
Here is their documented herbicide and pesticide applications:

See more info here.

Quite honestly, I make a conscious choice to support this particular small farmer. I rinse off my strawberries of course, but I'm very absolutely certain (willing to bet my life on it) that I'm not getting out of this life alive, and one thing or another is going to kill me. While I'm certain that there are people here who wish to attempt to live forever, I'd rather live than be so busy worrying about everything that could possibly hurt me.

Just my :2cents: - not that I can afford much more.

"Most ladybugs are predators. They eat other insects, most of which are considered pests to humans who like to grow plants for food or beauty. They are often called a ‘gardener’s best friend’." :

I just drove by Andy's on Highway 116, near Occidental Rd. They are offering organic strawberries for $2.50. If you support this Highway 12 stand you are supporting dishonesty. It is bad enough that they use that killer Roundup, and just as bad that they lie by saying they are "no spray." Support ethical farmers, not those who lie.

Ah, yes, but are those Driscoll's berries? There is an ongoing boycott against them for labor violations. I can't imagine how little the folks who picked berries that can be sold at that price must have gotten paid. Here is an example of what they got paid as of when this photo was taken: ​

The group from Washington state did agree this week to go back to work, but the folks in Baja California are still striking.

Please go to the farmers' market or farmstand if you can and buy direct from a grower.

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Posted in reply to the post by Shepherd:

I just drove by Andy's on Highway 116, near Occidental Rd. They are offering organic strawberries for $2.50. ...

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Thanks, Karen, for these important details. Driscoll is indeed a problem. I am not sure if those strawberries at Andy's are Driscoll's. Perhaps the next time someone goes by there they can take a look and let us know.

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Posted in reply to the post by karenm97:

Ah, yes, but are those Driscoll's berries? There is an ongoing boycott against them for labor violations. ...

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I used to love eating Driscoll's strawberries. Then, last year I saw a documentary about the company on Vice, the documentary series on HBO for which Bill Maher is the executive producer. Driscoll's employs workers for very low wages and forces them to work very long days with no bodily protection and no benefits whatsoever. After watching this program I felt that I could no longer buy Driscoll's products in good conscience.

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Posted in reply to the post by Shepherd:

Thanks, Karen, for these important details. Driscoll is indeed a problem. I am not sure if those strawberries at Andy's are Driscoll's. Perhaps the next time someone goes by there they can take a look and let us know.

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Posted in reply to the post by Imagery:

Quite honestly, I make a conscious choice to support this particular small farmer. I rinse off my strawberries of course, but I'm very absolutely certain (willing to bet my life on it) that I'm not getting out of this life alive, and one thing or another is going to kill me. While I'm certain that there are people here who wish to attempt to live forever, I'd rather live than be so busy worrying about everything that could possibly hurt me.
Just my :2cents: - not that I can afford much more.

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He's a real Nowhere Man
Sitting in his Nowhere Land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody

Doesn't have a point of view
Knows not where he's going to
Isn't he a bit like you and me?

Nowhere Man, please listen
You don't know what you're missing
Nowhere Man, the world is at your command

He's as blind as he can be
Just sees what he wants to see
Nowhere Man, can you see me at all?

Nowhere Man, don't worry
Take your time, don't hurry
Leave it all 'til somebody else lends you a hand

Doesn't have a point of view
Knows not where he's going to
Isn't he a bit like you and me?

Nowhere Man, please listen
You don't know what you're missing
Nowhere Man, the world is at your command

He's a real Nowhere Man
Sitting in his Nowhere Land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody

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Posted in reply to the post by Shepherd:

I just drove by Andy's on Highway 116, near Occidental Rd. They are offering organic strawberries for $2.50. If you support this Highway 12 stand you are supporting dishonesty. It is bad enough that they use that killer Roundup, and just as bad that they lie by saying they are "no spray." Support ethical farmers, not those who lie.

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Sadly, this is one reason I choose NOT to actively participate in these forums very often. To tell the truth, I haven't concerned myself with whether these strawberries have been sprayed or not. I've never asked farmer Lao if he sprays them, uses ladybugs, practices 'aura healing' or chants to these berries. I get met with judgments on how bad I am because I am "supporting dishonesty".

I've quit counting the number of times when a guest says that if they don't get (insert unreasonable request here), that they will leave us negative feedback on social media, or tell all their friends that we are a horrible place...as if they are a huge deal on the internet and they can destroy our business with a few words. Once, I finally told the caller that she could do us a favor by having our attorneys present when she wrote her unfavorable review, so the slander suit could commence immediately. The funny thing was, she didn't even patronize our business.

In this world of 'nano-truths' and 'alternative facts', we need to focus more on the creation of positive energy.

-Gregory

Um, with all due respect, Runningbare, what the hell is this supposed to mean? Other than that you are a Beatles fan, that is.

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Posted in reply to the post by Runningbare:

He's a real Nowhere Man...

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"Shooting the messenger" hardly creates positive energy.

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Posted in reply to the post by Imagery:

...In this world of 'nano-truths' and 'alternative facts', we need to focus more on the creation of positive energy.

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Of course we make choices regarding which hazards are of concern to us and our personal longevity / survival or not. Choosing organics is about the earth , the other critters, and our future generations. A little Round Up might only hurt you a little. But it's the aggregate that is a big problem.

Joybird
aka Joy

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Posted in reply to the post by Imagery:

Quite honestly, I make a conscious choice to support this particular small farmer. I rinse off my strawberries of course, but ...

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Posted in reply to the post by Shepherd:

Wine and Water Watch (www.winewaterwatch.org) has a list of organic and other vineyards that it recommends, though not a map, on its website.

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(I have also)
Several times Shepherd has also posted Pam Strayer's article on chemicals used in Sonoma County vineyards. Part of her article and research are maps that show the concentration of toxic chemicals that she has researched. It has even been published here on this site some time ago. I suggest if you think you are relatively free of chemicals, think again. Here is the article with maps.

Until our wine beholden county government does the right thing and does a county wide cumulative impact of this toxic industry, we will all be getting a daily dose of their poisons, no matter where you live. This is why movements like CELDF are gaining momentum. Profits should never supersede the right of citizens to health, We've all been sold a pile of lies. We CAN have a healthy environment and corporations can still make profits and the rights of nature can be recognized. Without a healthy environment, don't expect much future for the next generation.

Following is a link to our brave state of California rebuking Monsanto's Roundup by putting it on the Cancer Watchlist. This is the killer that the main user in Sonoma County is the wine industry. It is also used frequently by the beloved Highway 12 strawberry stand, in spite of their denial that they are "no spray."

In 'Remarkable' Rebuke to Monsanto, California Adds Roundup to Cancer Watchlist

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Posted in reply to the post by O.W.:

...I suggest if you think you are relatively free of chemicals, think again. Here is the article with maps. ...

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In the link above, Pam Strayer made a notable discovery:

"Bad Ole Boys: Sonoma Wine Grape Growers Lead the State in Mancozeb Use
The most surprising thing I discovered when I tallied up the chemicals of concern used on Sonoma’s vines was that Sonoma is the highest user – by far – of an old school, very toxic fungicide called Mancozeb, little used in the rest of the state.
Since 2004, Mancozeb’s use in wine grape vineyards has dropped 50 percent.
In 2004 wine grape growers used 25,577 pounds on 19,714 acres. In 2014, that figure declined to 12,284 pounds statewide over 8,079 acres in 2014.
Yet Sonoma growers account for full two thirds of the total Mancozeb used today on California wine grapes, applying 8,148 pounds on 5,246 acres in the county. Why?
Most of the Mancozeb used in Sonoma County is applied by a few growers and wineries who use Manzate, which is a fungicide that contains Mancozeb. Another product that’s used that contains Mancozeb is Dithane.

There are more than 10 different companies that report using Mancozeb. Those who use it most frequently are:

• VinePro Vineyard (various locations)*
• North Coast Vineyard Management (various locations)*
• Dutton Ranch (more than 150 locations) – certified sustainable
• Massoni Ranch (various locations) – certified sustainable
• A. Rafanelli (West Dry Creek Road locations) – certified sustainable

(*Vineyard management companies)

Note: These three wineries on the list of the top 5 are all “certified sustainable” by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance."

Ever wonder why the Sonoma County Treasurer deems it necessary and appropriate to post the following duplicitous declaration on the backs of envelopes mailed annually with property tax statements? Titled "NOTICE: RIGHT TO FARM", it reads:

“The County of Sonoma has declared it a policy to protect and encourage agricultural operations. If your property is located near an agricultural operation, you may at some times be subject to inconvenience or discomfort arising from agricultural operations. If conducted in a manner consistent with proper and accepted standards, said inconveniences and discomforts are hereby deemed not to constitute a nuisance for purposes of the Sonoma County Code."

This "NOTICE" amounts to thinly disguised coercion whereby we are admonished to don their specially tailored legalistic straightjacket while we endure having notoriously bad medicine shoved down our unwilling throats. In this manner the Sonoma County Code cozily ensconses the wine cartel's Code of Coercion.

The claimed "RIGHT TO FARM" in actual practice, on the ground and in the air, signals the right to devastate the entire community, from the health of its residents to air & water quality, groundwater and resource depletion, eradication of irreplaceable and invaluable oak woodlands, monoculturally induced blights, lasting ecological damage caused by relentless applications of insecticides, pesticides, fungicides--the list of grievances is endless.

Here in wine country, "agricultural operations" is essentially code for vineyards. (Likewise "inconveniences and discomforts" are code for environmental and public health travesties.) WHOSE agricultural operations? Obviously we're not talking about organic growers of lettuce, spinach, garlic, & carrots. A sustainable confusion is conjured between on the one hand, diversified farms with the quaint image of barnyards & butterflies, children & families; and on the other, unduly modernized, highly impersonal, sanitized corporate agribusiness monokultural misoperations. Who will protect the humble dirtclod farm from the exuberant spillover of neighboring sprauling agrikultural sloperations, where the money shines so brightly that it blinds corporate owners to the stifling costs to public health and the environment?

". . .you may at some times be subject to . . ." Not "subjected" to . . .? Pedantic distinction or significant difference? Are we the second-class citizenry hereby further reduced to mere vassals?

". . .at some times . . ." is conveniently vague. Does this mean once in a blue moon, or with unlimited rate of incidence? We can be sure it does mean without benefit of warning to allow time to prepare for inevitable drift:
--Sorry if it was a warm summer evening and you had all the windows open at 2 AM.
--Sorry if your laundry was hanging outside on your energy-efficient green solar/lunar clothesdryer.
--Sorry if the rest of your clothes were hanging in the closet.
--Sorry if you were trying to grow something organic.
--Sorry if you thought you had a right to sleep at night--disturbance of the what?
--Sorry if we're the only ones who had an opportunity to put gas masks and protective clothing on first.
--Sorry if you wanted to keep breathing . . .

". . .proper and accepted standards" are neither specified nor referenced. Accepted by whom? Who determines these standards, the industry or the people who actually live & die here? The onus of compliance is unilaterally placed on all of us not involved in agribusiness. Conspicuously absent is any mention of sanctions for agricultural aberrations conducted in a manner NOT consistent with . . .standards.

Who authorized this exceptional collusion between the Sonoma County Code and the wine cartel? Will it extend to the newly heralded cannabis industry?
Why is this preemptive, ominous warning not communicated instead by the Ag Commissioner's Office?
The doublespeak could perhaps be mirrored: "If you happen to have any serious complaints about the positively sustained, sanctioned, and systematic destruction of our county's precious watershed, we hereby preemptively place the resulting burden of endurance squarely on your shoulders and yours alone."
Yes, small wonder that community-based environmental movements such as those fostered by CELDF are picking up steam.
Meanwhile, as Shepherd noted, California just last Monday announced it will finally add glyphosate—the active ingredient in the Monsanto-produced weed killer Roundup—to its list of chemicals known to cause cancer. The decision, made by California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), was reportedly precipitated by the World Health Organization's classification of glyphosate as a "probable carcinogen" in May of 2015. It only took 2 years. Carry on.

After hearing about the spraying on Hwy 12, many have asked me about the strawberry stand on Stoney Point Rd. Here is what we learned. We at Laguna Farm believe you have a right to know how your food is grown. Knowledge is power.

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I have reviewed the records request that you sent to our office regarding the following property:
735 Stony Point Rd
Petaluma, CA 94952
APN: 113-140-045

According to our records there is no evidence of pesticide use reports having been submitted to our office for pesticide applications. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Thank you. ColleenBoe

Department of Agriculture
133 Aviation Blvd., Ste. 110
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
(707) 565-2371

Runningbare, I'd like to thank you for exposing the "sustainable" wine (viticulture not agriculture) industry. Most on that list are also big award winners! Obviously that word means nothing in this county. Until they stop raping our aquifers and poisoning the soil, air and water, there is no way to be sustainable. Our county, through the issuance of permits are deciding for us how much destruction will be allowed. "Right to Farm" should be renamed, thanks for pointing out what it really means in wine country (less than 2% acreage organic/biodynamic). Some famers a great stewards of the land and we thank them for their consciousness and give them our support and appreciation.

A great article from CELDF June 2015, Volume 2 Issue 1, "Regulate Crime" on how our government regulates crime for corporations. Worth a search/read. We have been programmed to think when we see"... bulldozed farmlands, industrial towers, paved parking lots, compromised watersheds, polluted skylines and dirty rivers...we can't have progress without damage".( We don't permit robberies or killings, allow only 100 robberies in this city etc.) ..."Yet when corporate management claims it must commit environmental crimes like air pollution, groundwater contamination, carcinogens in our food stream, mercury in fish populations, blowing tops off mountains, tinkering with the genetics of living beings and thousands of other assaults on nature and the people........" this is progress?

Great read and real food for thought why we standby and allow these crimes against the community. We've been colonized by corporations to think this is right to the determent to our heath, safety and welfare. Time to start calling out the polluters/resource miners for what they are. Sonoma County needs a Community Bill of Rights like 200 communities' across the US are doing with the help of people like CELDF and Movement Rights. Time to take back our government to work for the people first. Corporations originally were not chartered unless they could show "benefit to the community". Wow did we drink the Kool-Aid.

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Posted in reply to the post by Runningbare:

In the link above, Pam Strayer made a notable discovery:

"Bad Ole Boys: Sonoma Wine Grape Growers Lead the State in Mancozeb Use...

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The wine industry is anything but "sustainable," except to sustain their profits, most of which leave the county to the corporate wineries, which continue to buy up local vineyards, wineries, and good land for real food agriculture. According to Go Local, 96% of veggies and fruit sold in Sonoma County are grown outside the county. We have a food security risk.

Wine is an historically boom-and-bust crop, which will surely bust at some point. Then the vineyards will be sub-divided and sold to the highest investors to make expensive mansions. Sonoma County is losing its orchards, redwoods, and other diversity to this mono-crop.

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Posted in reply to the post by Shepherd:

The wine industry is anything but "sustainable," except to sustain their profits, most of which leave the county to the corporate wineries, which continue to buy up local vineyards, wineries, and good land for real food agriculture. According to Go Local, 96% of veggies and fruit sold in Sonoma County are grown outside the county. We have a food security risk.

Wine is an historically boom-and-bust crop, which will surely bust at some point. Then the vineyards will be sub-divided and sold to the highest investors to make expensive mansions. Sonoma County is losing its orchards, redwoods, and other diversity to this mono-crop.

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I find this comment about the sustainability of the wine industry to be direct, honest and insightful. For thousands of years wine has made its way into our mouths, bellies, heads and hearts ("our" used collectively as ppl in general, not every one of us)...Indeed its physical bond is as potent as the bond it has on our psyche...images of Dionysus frolicking, the telling of Jesus' first miracle, Neil Diamond (UB40 too!) and Red Red Wine!! For me, at least, the notion of this perfect elixir is associated with overall merriment and good vibes. Photos of wine country are iconic -- rolling hills clothed with wonderful rows of grapes, not to mention the cases of wine at prices affordable for the 1% (Chateau Mouton Rothschild) to the 99% (2 Buck Chuck!) and everything in between.

And yet, that is simply a romanticized version of an idea. The truth is that it is a commodity, a business venture, a corporate design, and the human and environmental capital required to "sustain" it is overwhelming. From the chemicals used to produce the "best" fruit...to the toll it takes on the redwoods and other natural diversity in the region...(Of course if you make your own batch of plum wine, that is another thing.) And when the land is done, time to put up some tract housing! "4bed 3 bath starting in the low-mid 600s! Sorry for anyone not making 6 figures...keeping renting!" In essence, it can certainly be viewed as a mono-crop. Perhaps the next time I have a sip and enjoy the floral note, I might also be reminded of the previous post and catch "a hint of boom and bust mono-crop."

Here is some relatively new information regarding the recent labeling of glyphosate (RoundUp) as a probable carcinogen by IRSA, an arm of the WHO. Seems IRSA simply omitted a major review study of glyphosate that showed "...neither carcinogenic or mutagenic properties of glyphosate... Here is the headline from Mother Jones, hardly a mouthpiece for the chemical industry,

https://www.WaccoBB.net/forums/wacco...0_10-45-42.png
A Scientist Didn't Disclose Important Data - And Let Everyone Believe A Popular Weedkiller Causes Cancer


You can also read about the "incident" in the New Yorker

https://www.WaccoBB.net/forums/wacco...0_10-48-54.png

Roundup and Risk Assessment
This is not to say, of course, that the farmer was not at fault for intimating that his strawberries were "organic". I personally believe that his poor English was partly responsible for what customers are quoting he said.

But, Shepherd, I believe you labelled RoundUp as a "killer". What do you think? Still believe that?

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Posted in reply to the post by luke32:

Here is some relatively new information regarding the recent labeling of glyphosate (RoundUp) as a probable carcinogen ...

But, Shepherd, I believe you labelled RoundUp as a "killer". What do you think? Still believe that?

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In response to Luke's question--Yes, I still consider Roundup to kill, especially the most vulnerable, which includes infants, elders, and those with compromised health conditions. It is simply not worth the risk, in my opinion, which is why Calif. and certain European countries require it be labeled as dangerous. The potential costs far outweigh the benefits, especially to Monsanto, which funds much of the studies supporting its big money-maker.

RoundUp OK or bad? Take your pick.. From the NYTimes.

https://graphics8.nytimes.com/images...logo152x23.gif
Glyphosate, Top-Selling Weed Killer, Wins E.U. Approval for 5 Years

By DANNY HAKIMNOV. 27, 2017

The European Union voted on Monday to extend its authorization for the world’s best-selling herbicide for an abbreviated period of five years, with France and Germany splitting over the move.

President Emmanuel Macron of France said after the decision was announced that he had asked government officials to draw up a plan for banning the herbicide, glyphosate, in his country within three years. He also posted a message on Twitter with the hashtag #MakeOurPlanetGreatAgain. France led the opposition to allowing the use of glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup and in weed killers made by other companies.

Germany, which had abstained in a previous round of voting on the issue, appeared to help sway the outcome of the vote. Although Angela Merkel, the chancellor, has been unable to form a coalition government after the country’s recent election, Germany’s caretaker government swung its support in favor of the weed killer.

The decision appeared to be contentious even within the caretaker government. A split between ministers was reported by Der Spiegel, with Germany’s environment minister, Barbara Hendricks, a member of the Social Democrats, expressing opposition to glyphosate and blaming Ms. Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats for the decision. The two parties are in the process of negotiating over potentially creating a new coalition.

The vote on Monday capped an unusually lengthy and combative European review process that unfolded amid claims and counterclaims about the cancer-causing risks of glyphosate.

The deliberations frustrated parties on all sides. Agrochemical companies criticized the review process as driven more by politics than science after it became clear that the weed killer’s use would not be reauthorized for the 15 years typical for such chemicals, or even for 10 years. Environmental advocates said that the agrochemical industry had tainted scientific reviews in Europe by meddling in them.

On Monday, with the herbicide’s registration set to expire next month, 18 of the union’s member states voted in favor of extending its use for five years, nine voted against the proposal and one abstained. The vote was weighted by population size.

The Glyphosate Task Force, an industry group that includes Monsanto and Syngenta, said in a statement that it was “profoundly disappointed at the outcome of today’s meeting whereby member states categorically ignored scientific advice.” The group added that it believed the decision was “not related to any scientific assessment and mainly influenced by public perception and driven by politics.”

Angeliki Lysimachou, an environmental toxicologist at the advocacy group Pesticide Action Network Europe, also found fault with the vote, but from a different perspective. “This decision reveals once again the sad truth that governments are more keen to protect the highly profitable pesticide industry than the health of their people and the environment,” she said.

The use of glyphosate has soared in the United States over the past couple decades as it was paired with crops that were genetically modified to be resistant to it, allowing farmers to use it to kill weeds after crops emerge from the ground. Although Europe has largely eschewed genetically modified crops, glyphosate has also been the best-selling weed killer there as well.

The herbicide became engulfed in controversy after the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, declared it a probable carcinogen in 2015. That spurred a federal case in the United States over claims that it caused cancer, and prompted California to declare it a carcinogen.

The international agency’s finding has been disputed by many other government bodies, including two in Europe, the European Food Safety Authority and the European Chemicals Agency. The latest major study, published this month by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, “observed no associations between glyphosate use and overall cancer risk.”

Does anyone have an update on whether Farmer Lao's strawberry stand is still using Roundup or other pesticides? Here we are a year further along...

They still have the sweetest and freshest berries I have found in the area.

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Posted in reply to the post by Allergy Relief Sonoma:

Does anyone have .......

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Our local AG department is more interested in collecting fees than actually enforcing anything. I doubt anything will happen unless a public stink is made about it.

Do they actually grow anything on that property?

What do you think they need to enforce in this case? Growers are allowed to use pesticides.

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Posted in reply to the post by ChefJayTay:

Our local AG department is more interested in collecting fees than actually enforcing anything. I doubt anything will happen unless a public stink is made about it.

Do they actually grow anything on that property?

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Posted in reply to the post by rekarp:

What do you think they need to enforce in this case? Growers are allowed to use pesticides.

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As far as roundup? nothing.
As for having a strawberry stand on a property that is not producing the strawberries being sold (or the eggs or other fruit/veg that finds it's way there)... There absolutely is an issue. Even if they are being grown across town.

Why is it an issue? I've seen many fruit stands that aren't on the property the fruit was grown on, alongside the road, in Farmer's Markets and so on. There must not be a law that says you can't sell fruit from a stand on a property that wasn't where the fruit was grown. Can you explain more about this, so we learn about these illegal operations, and boycott/expose them?

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Posted in reply to the post by ChefJayTay:

As far as roundup? nothing.
As for having a strawberry stand on a property that is not producing the strawberries being sold (or the eggs or other fruit/veg that finds it's way there)... There absolutely is an issue. Even if they are being grown across town.

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" no evidence of pesticide use reports having been submitted to our office for pesticide applications"

Does this prove that no pesticides are used?

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Posted in reply to the post by Laguna Farm:

After hearing about the spraying on Hwy 12, many have asked me about the strawberry stand on Stoney Point Rd. Here is what we learned. We at Laguna Farm believe you have a right to know how your food is grown. Knowledge is power.

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I have reviewed the records request that you sent to our office regarding the following property:
735 Stony Point Rd
Petaluma, CA 94952
APN: 113-140-045

According to our records there is no evidence of pesticide use reports having been submitted to our office for pesticide applications. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Thank you. ColleenBoe

Department of Agriculture
133 Aviation Blvd., Ste. 110
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
(707) 565-2371

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I did a google search and found that one can have a farmstand on a property the farmer owns or leases, so it doesn't have to be the site where the stuff was grown:

https://www.sonoma-county.org/prmd/d...ts/pjr-115.pdf

you're welcome

There are laws. They can also be searched using your browser (pesticide application law sonoma county for example) and you can find an article about why, as well as links to the laws.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/lifest...nforce-roundup

I once looked at an Organic property that was available for lease and found a Roundup bottle on the site (of course it is possible it wasn't used on a growing area). So not all use is reported...

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Posted in reply to the post by rekarp:

What do you think they need to enforce in this case? Growers are allowed to use pesticides.

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Posted in reply to the post by ChefJayTay:

Our local AG department is more interested in collecting fees than actually enforcing anything. I doubt anything will happen unless a public stink is made about it.

Do they actually grow anything on that property?

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Mr Lao rotates his crops and fields. He has a large field in back of the house on which this year's berries are being grown. In the front field, one is fallow, the other has been planted and will have veggies later in the season.

Mr Lao's staff also lied about their products directly to the press democrat.
There are things that deserve a second chance... businesses that lie about their products don't fall into that category.

Chief, I cant recall all the thread on this one. Could you please show the reference that indicates Mr. Lao's staff "lied to the PD"?

Much appreciated.

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Posted in reply to the post by ChefJayTay:

Mr Lao's staff also lied about their products directly to the press democrat.
There are things that deserve a second chance... businesses that lie about their products don't fall into that category.

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Posted in reply to the post by luke32:

..

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Read the first post. I did mistake Sonoma West Times and News for PD.
I'm not your chief, boss.

Fair enough, Chef. Although I still believe that some of the seeming "lie' can be laid at the feet of English being their second language. I also believe that the initial question posed by the SWTN reporter probably was along the line of do you apply pesticides to your strawberries? And the literal answer, especially to a non-native English speaker, was "no"'. I think the Laos' answer meant "we don't apply pesticides to strawberries" (but we do apply Roundup to weeds in the area). I think to someone whose first language is not English the answer would not seem to be evasive, and certainly not a lie.

I think there is a big gulf between the background of West County environmentalists with years of sensitivity to the dangers of pesticides and the background of an immigrant family which tries to make a living from farming. And I certainly think the use of the word "lie', as reprehensible as that is to all of us - particularly these days - is not in order when talking about the Laos, first generation Americans, in their colloquy with the SWTN reporter, who also probably was not the most skilled.

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Posted in reply to the post by ChefJayTay:

Read the first post. I did mistake Sonoma West Times and News for PD.
I'm not your chief, boss.

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the company that produced that first tests on round up CHEATED on the tests(I think it was Dow or Du Pont) when apprehended ,they paid a million dollar fine and kept right on making the crap without further testing Roundup was and is one of the first water based poisons ever that makes it extremely dangerous ,I was sod to see the Europeans have finally folded to monsatanos pressure very bad news .

it is easy to grow strawberries without chemicals,but it takes more LABOR . and then they cost more

if that stand has any sign-age that says they are organic is should be easy enough to bust them.

I'd say Don't shop there! Never eat anything strawberry flavored the pesticides that are legal to use are horrible for you, especially children.

there was a huge line at the stand today! sad.

I feel also for the farmers ,they just want to eek out a living ,but they should wize up!

many grape orchards use round up between rows if you see bare ground there ,that what's up dont buy THAT wine .I'd like to find a list of wines that use it and post it and go on YELP about it.

fava beans between the rows !! 100% better idea.