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Farm Bureau files petition against
EPA
![]() The California Farm Bureau Federation has petitioned the U.S.
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of national farm groups who
oppose the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's implementation of the
Food Quality Protection Act.
![]() The petition, filed
in support of the American Farm Bureau
Federation and the American Crop
Protection Association, charges the EPA with violating the 1996 law by
moving too quickly to restrict pesticides based on incomplete data and
pressure from environmental activist groups.
![]() "Our involvement in
this case is necessary to ensure that science is the driving force behind
the implementation of the Food Quality Protection Act, as Congress
intended," said CFBF President Bill Pauli. "Farmers and ranchers support
food safety, but we need a food safety system backed by science and based
on real-world data, not guesswork."
![]() Last June, the
American Farm Bureau and the American Crop Protection Association filed
suit in federal court in Washington D.C. to challenge the EPA's failure to
obtain data on pesticide use and effects and other procedural failures in
implementing FQPA. The California Farm Bureau's participation in the
petition to the Ninth Circuit is intended to ensure the court does not
rule on another suit by the Natural Resources Defense Council. The NRDC
suit now before the Ninth Circuit alleges that EPA is not moving fast
enough on pesticide regulation.
![]() "The NRDC and other
groups want science to take a back seat to politics in driving the FQPA
reassessment process," said Pauli. "If EPA is allowed to follow this
course, American farmers will lose many crop protection tools necessary to
protect the nation's food supply from an army of pests."
![]() The EPA is required
by law to reassess some 9,700 chemical tolerances within the next decade.
Farm Bureau's petition charges EPA is relying on default assumptions to
develop preliminary risk assessments. If EPA lacks the actual use data on
a particular product, Pauli said the agency assumes that 100 percent of
the acreage is being treated at the maximum label rates.
![]() "Using such default
assumptions overstates the actual risk to the public and raises the risk
to farmers," said Pauli. "Our involvement in this case means that farmers
in California and across the nation will have input into the court's
ruling on the issues critical to our members' continuing access to crop
protection tools."
![]() Pauli said while the
U.S. Department of Agriculture promotes
eating several servings of fruits and vegetables daily for good health,
"the EPA is taking away the tools farmers need to provide high-quality,
wholesome food. We either get involved now or face the prospect of
becoming reliant on other countries for our food supply. This is a
position we cannot support."
![]() The California Farm
Bureau leaders said farmers in the Golden State would be among the hardest
hit if EPA forces the cancellation of pesticides under FQPA.
![]() "Economic studies
have shown that if certain popular classes of chemicals are banned,
farmers will see significant yield losses and higher production costs, and
consumers will pay higher retail prices and see a greater amount of
imported produce on store shelves," said Pauli. "No one wins with a food
policy that hurts family farmers and consumers."
![]() Preliminary results
of a study at U.C. Berkeley estimate the loss of organophosphates, an
important class of pesticides, would cost California farmers and consumers
between $870 million and $2 billion annually.
![]() The California Farm
Bureau Federation is the state's largest farm organization, representing
more than 78,000 members in 56 counties.
Contact: Bob Krauter, office (916) 561-5550 | 