Sacramento Press
by Ali Tabatabai

December 14, 2009 at 9:58PM, Sacramento, CA

100 people rallied in front of the Capitol on Monday, opposing a new pesticide containing methyl iodide that could potentially be used at strawberry farms statewide.

The group - made up of farm laborers from around the state, local activists and consumers - marched from Caesar Chavez Park to the south Capitol steps, carrying signs and chanting slogans characterizing the chemical as a “poison.” Methyl iodide, which would be used as a fumigant sprayed onto field soil, is still awaiting approval by state pesticide officials before it can be sold or used in California.

Organizers of the rally have said the chemical could be “one of the most dangerous pesticides in use,” adding that it is used to create cancer cells in laboratory animals and is listed as a cancer-causing carcinogen under the state’s Proposition 65 statute.