Are Your Easter Lilies Poisoning A California Town?:
Evidence mounts that the intense pesticide use required to cultivate the delicate bulbs is causing health problems for residents and harming populations of endangered species. ..
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When the wind is right, the Camerons can smell what Tim calls a “garlicky” odor blowing across the neighborhood. The first time it happened, they jumped in the car and followed the odor to a tractor spraying in a nearby field. After witnessing this several times, they went to a government agricultural office in town and were told a pesticide, fungicide, or nematicide was being applied.
The Camerons both soon developed severe allergies. When Cindy went to a doctor to get a prescription-strength remedy, Tim says, “the doctor mentioned to her, ‘Do you live out in Smith River, where all those lily fields are?’ ” After a talk with the doctor about pesticide exposure, the couple began to worry. They shared their concern with neighbors, who told the Camerons bluntly that the spraying didn’t bother them.
The Camerons are “not activists,” Tim says, and he doesn’t want to raise any fuss. They don’t necessarily attribute the miscarriages to the pesticides, but now his wife wants to move away from Smith River, and he’ll say only, “At this point, I am concerned,” particularly for their young children. Tim feels authorities are not doing enough. He went and talked to the farmer, who apologized. But the spraying continues.
