Methyl Bromide Milkshakes? Yummy!

Don't you love when it warms just enough in the fall to squeeze in another strawberry milkshake? American-grown strawberries get a nice coating of methyl bromide. Actually, most of the chemical ends is used in the soil where it kills EVERYTHING. Yup. The fields are completely sterilized then agribusiness goes to work planting them full yummy berries. But what's in the soil ends up on the plants, in the plants, on the fruit, in the fruit.

Methyl Bromide is super toxic and shreds the ozone layer. Thankfully, it's being phased out globally via the Montreal Protocol. In Montreal this month delegates from 191 nations met to renew/increase limitations of ozone-ripping chemicals and Methyl Bromide is considered to be the worst culprit. So why oh why isn't this dangerous chemical (it kills EVERYTHING in the soil. EVERYTHING.) closer to being completely wiped out? Mostly it's our fault. Yup. Specifically our love of strawberries.

The USA has applied for exceptions to the rules layed out by previous Montreal Protocols. The statistics are mind-numbing. If you don't read the article, just know this:

"the U.S., which has applied for 6,500 tonnes for 2008 and 5,000 tonnes for 2009, even as the rest of the developed world has dropped significantly to just 1,900 and 1,400 tonnes, respectively."

So, we'll use three times as much methyl bromide because...well...because of this kind of thinking on the part of agribusiness (the quotation is from David McAllister from Chemtura Corporation):

regulatory process already imposes a significant burden on producers, distributors, and users.Critical users have to submit justifications for their critical-use applications, some three years in advance of when that product might be applied, and to substantiate their requests with very extensive documentation. They then must be ready to answer questions about those applications, both from EPA officials and, in some cases, from the international community because of the Montreal Protocol levels.*

Oh, boo hoo Mr. Big Money interest. You gotta deal with red tape so that kids don't drink methyl bromide milkshakes and so that our Argentine pals don't sizzle under the gaping ozone hole. BOO HOO, Chemtura will just have to sell other baby-choking, breast-milk-poisoning chemicals instead. There's just SOOO much paperwork involved in poisoning the planet.

And I KNOW the argument that goes "we gotta protect our industry," but our industry doesn't protect US!! So agribusiness looses money and some jobs are lost because they can't grow as many strawberries without ruining the planet. Oh well. We weren't meant to be growing so many strawberries in the first place. Eat an apple!


*"Critical Use" is the term given to the loopholes created by the Montreal Protocol to allow nations to apply for exemptions to using Methyl Bromide. And this excerpt's from an EPA hearing held earlier this month. You can download the transcript here.