If you live in Rhode Island, New York, New Hampshire or Vermont attempts are under way to repeal state preemption in an effort to enact local pesticide and fertilizer restrictions. If you don’t live or work in any of these states, it doesn’t mean you’re off the hook – it means you still have time to proactively make a difference.
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Real commitment from everyone involved in the specialty pesticide industry is needed to show anti-pesticide activists – as well as local, state and federal legislators – that we’re in this business for the long haul.
“Local level politics are the most dangerous to our industry,” said Stacey Pine, director, state and local affairs for the Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment (RISE), Washington, D.C., as it concluded its annual meeting in conjunction with CropLife America with a message of active involvement and industry stewardship. “At the local level there are smaller constituencies; therefore they can be held more accountable.”
RISE is laying the foundation for a unified industry voice; however, with more than 80,000 municipalities in the United States, it’s going to take more than association staffs working on the industry’s behalf. It’s going to take participation from everyone in the industry becoming more active on the local level, Pine said.
In addition to becoming more visible at the local level, industry stewardship was also promoted as a measure of success.
“Our job as industry stewards is to make sure product doesn’t get where it’s not supposed to be. And, if it does, we need to clean it up and take responsibility for it,” said Tom Hoogheem, director of stewardship and environmental safety and health for Monsanto, St. Louis, MO. “Why is stewardship important? Because, if we don’t address such issues, we’ll lose our right to sell and use our products.”
Hoogheem told a breakfast audience that the industry has made great strides in over the years in producing new formulations, reusable containers and product packaging. “I think we’ve done well over the years. We forget how far we’ve come,” he said, challenging the industry to make a continued commitment to stewardship particularly in the area of container recycling. “It’s a condition of being in this business. We owe it to ourselves and this industry.”
Throughout the annual meeting, RISE attendees also heard panel discussions on the challenges and successes of integrated mosquito management for West Nile Virus, the role of pesticides in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the role pesticides play in the production of food.