Farm Law Ignores Public Health

Where did Ventura County Agriculture Commissioner Earl McPhail get the misguided notion that public health is protected by way of “stiff” permit restrictions? (“Residents Want Farm’s Pesticide Permit Revoked,” June 26).

Current law allows fumigation of fields, with an extremely toxic chemical, to within 30 feet of residential backyards, and growers are not required to issue public health warning notices. These conditions constitute a gross lack of public protection, and no self-respecting individual would say otherwise.

Compounding the problem is Supervisor Judy Mikels, who is pushing a right-to-farm ordinance that disproportionately caters to agribusiness interests while doing nothing to eliminate or even minimize the threat to public health.

Cleverly incorporated into what is being advanced as a mere nuisance proposal that will help growers avoid disputes with residential neighbors over farming operations, it will strip people of their right to protect themselves and their families from pesticide exposure hazards by muzzling them so that growers can enjoy peace of mind and freedom from liability.

The right-to-farm ordinance isn’t just about simple nuisance disputes over noisy farm equipment and blowing dust, as McPhail and Mikels would have us believe. It’s about a political culture that consistently sides with agriculture despite the seriousness of public grievances.

People are being poisoned, and instead of protecting them, Mikels is promoting an ordinance that will deny them their right to challenge this travesty.

TERRI GAISHIN

Camarillo