Methyl Iodide is this season's Methyl Bromide...I mean...er...Yay Tomatoes!

If you've been following the results of the Montreal Protocol meetings, you'll know that Methyl Bromide is a naughty chemical that's number one on the list of ozone rippers. So, the Protocol is meant to reduce usage of ozone rippers and methyl bromide is being phased out globally over the next twenty some years. That's great news. Sadly, there are still loopholes through which nations can apply for excemptions and get a quota of methyl bromide to use. Happily, the quotas are reduced more and more each year.

Since US berry and tomato growers want a replacement for methyl bromide, the EPA is set to approve use of (drumroll, please) methyl iodide. Well that just sucks. Not only is methyl iodide linked to increases in cancer and respiratory illnesses, it's also a known neural fucker-upper s (that's when your brain gets chewed up from the inside out and you have trouble staying alive).

The methyl iodide is injected into soil so that it can kill everything and then tomatoes and berries are grown in that same soil. The thinking goes, "since we're not spraying it on the plants themselves, consumers are safe." Oh right, because toxic soil is nothing to worry about. Right. Because when a tomato plant is growing, its roots don't touch the soil, right? Because when a tomato falls to the ground it doesn't fall on soil, right? Because when it rains the rain water doesn't wash the methyl iodide into lakes and streams, right? Cuz rainwater knows better.

Just close your eyes and think of the berries. Sweet juicy berries. And ripe red tomatoes...mmmmm....all better. And take comfort, however small, in the fact that methyl iodide doesn' rip up the ozone layer. Ahhhhhh.