Pesticide Forum on Wednesday April 4th at 7pm

Big Wine, Health, News / March 30, 2018

“According to the most recent data available, Napa County has the highest cancer rate for white women in the state and the fifth highest childhood cancer rate.  In addition, among Latinos, Napa County has the third highest rate of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the cancer most associated with glyphosate and farmworkers.” 

Pesticide Forum on Wed. April 4th at 7 PM

GMO Free Napa County will sponsor a forum on pesticides on Wednesday, April 4th from 7:00 to 8:30 PM at the Napa County Library at 580 Coombs Street in Downtown Napa.

 

A panel of experts will focus on the various health risks of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup and most widely used pesticide in the world, and what we can do to reduce its use.

The panel will include Michelle Perro, MD, pediatrician and co-author of the book What’s Making our Children Sick?; Eriberto Fernandez, Civic Engagement and Policy Coordinator for the United Farm Workers Foundation; Gayle McLaughlin, former Mayor of Richmond and current candidate for Lieutenant Governor of California; and Carol Nagle, PhD, Co-coordinator of GMO Free Napa County.

The forum will be moderated by Amy Martenson, Co-coordinator for GMO Free Napa County, who also serves as secretary for the Napa County Green Party and as a board member on the Napa Valley College Board of Trustees.

According to the most recent data available, Napa County has the highest cancer rate for white women in the state and the fifth highest childhood cancer rate.  In addition, among Latinos, Napa County has the third highest rate of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the cancer most associated with glyphosate and farmworkers. 

Given the World Health Organization’s classification of glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen, it is imperative that we reduce or eliminate its widespread use in our environment.  We will discuss our efforts to follow cities such as Richmond’s lead and ban the use of all toxic pesticides on public lands, while creating incentives for grape growers to limit their use in vineyards.

GMO Free Napa County will be collecting unwanted pesticides at the door, including all herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides, and pool chemicals, to be safely and legally disposed of through Napa Recycling and Waste Services.

This forum is co-sponsored by the Napa County Green Party, Living Rivers Council, the United Farm Workers Foundation, and GMO Science.