Watsonville, CA – Today, the Alliance for Food and Farming (AFF) launched a new, comprehensive webpage at www.safefruitsandveggies.com outlining standards and regulations in place to ensure the safe use of organic pesticides. For the first time, there is now a resource that provides complete information about the approval, use and safety standards for pesticides applied on organic fruit and vegetable farms.
“While there is a great amount of information easily found on regulations governing the use of conventional pesticides, a person must go to multiple sources to find similar information on organic pesticides,” explains Matt McInerney, Executive Vice President with Western Growers and AFF Chair. “Now you can visit safefruitsandveggies.com and find all the concise information in one place,” he says. “We believe that this resource clearly illustrates that both organic and conventional pesticides are heavily regulated and those regulations are protective of both consumer health and the environment,” McInerney adds.
The new webpage includes information on the processes for approving the use of pesticides on organic farms, enforcement measures that ensure their proper use and safety measures in place to protect consumers who enjoy organic produce. The webpage also includes a revised and expanded regulatory section on conventional pesticides as well as a Q&A with California Department of Pesticide Regulation Director Brian Leahy about how regulations are developed and why both organic and conventional pesticides are needed. Webpage content was written by Lea Brooks, former Assistant Director of Communications for the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.
According to the AFF, the need for this webpage became clear as staff worked to address consumer questions about organic pesticides. “We began seeing more and more questions about organic residues and pesticide regulations from consumers. But when we looked for answers, we found it quite time consuming because we had to go to multiple sources and government websites,” explains Marilyn Dolan, Executive Director of the AFF. “So it was clear there was a need to gather and present comprehensive information in one place.”
Dolan says the AFF welcomes and encourages other organizations who provide information about farming and food to link to the new webpage so their members and/or consumers have easy access to this safety information.
“Our goal at the AFF is to provide science-based, accurate and accessible information about the safety of conventional and organic fruits and veggies to consumers. This new webpage on safefruitsandveggies.com advances that goal,” Dolan says.
The AFF encourages consumers to choose conventional or organic fruits and veggies, but to eat more of both for improved health and a longer life.
The Alliance for Food and Farming is a non-profit organization formed in 1989 which represents organic and conventional farmers and farms of all sizes. Alliance contributors are limited to farmers of fruits and vegetables, companies that sell, market or ship fruits and vegetables or organizations that represent produce farmers. Our mission is to deliver credible information to consumers about the safety of fruits and vegetables. The Alliance does not engage in any lobbying activities, nor do we accept any money or support from the pesticide industry.
Source: Alliance for Food and Farming
