{"id":42705,"date":"2014-05-12T12:00:20","date_gmt":"2014-05-12T11:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=42705"},"modified":"2015-05-05T21:35:01","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T20:35:01","slug":"minnesotans-vs-mcdonalds-toxic-taters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2014\/05\/minnesotans-vs-mcdonalds-toxic-taters\/","title":{"rendered":"Minnesotans vs. McDonald\u2019s Toxic Taters"},"content":{"rendered":"

McDonald\u2019s french fries are suspected of killing farm animals and poisoning wildlife and Minnesotans, including students and farmers.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"fries\"<\/a>No, it\u2019s not the high cholesterol or deep frying that\u2019s in question\u2014or the crappy ingredients (i.e., genetically modified oils, sugar and anti-foaming agents). It\u2019s the pesticide drift that\u2019s applied every five to seven days on commercial potato fields that\u2019s plaguing the state. The result: \u201cToxic taters.\u201d<\/p>\n

McDonald\u2019s buys more than 3.4 billion pounds of U.S.-grown potatoes every year. They\u2019re the single largest consumer of potatoes in central Minnesota and the northwestern region. Potato fields cover the landscape, stretching for 45,000 acres in every direction. Thanks to pesticide drift, residents living near potato fields have developed serious chronic health problems, and some small farms have lost livestock.<\/p>\n

Research published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives reports that skin, lung and intestinal irritations are linked to some incidences of pesticide drift, with the\u00a0most acute reactions among children<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Using \u201cdrift catchers,\u201d a group of concerned citizens formed the\u00a0Toxic Taters Coalition<\/a>\u00a0and discovered that chemicals, such as chlorothalonil (classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as \u201chighly toxic\u201d and a \u201cprobable\u201d carcinogen),\u00a0\u00a0chlorpyrifos<\/a>, pendimethalin, PCNB and 2,4-D were present in 66 percent of the air samples they tested throughout central Minnesota. That\u2019s why conventionally (aka chemically) grown potatoes make the\u00a0top 10 fruits and vegetables to avoid for pesticide residue<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 2006 the coalition<\/a>, along with Pesticide Action Network<\/a>, initially tried working with state agencies and the region\u2019s largest potato producer, R.D. Offutt Company, to document the pesticide problem in the potato-producing regions of Minnesota. Under pressure from shareholders, McDonald\u2019s laid out a plan in 2009 for reduced pesticide use.<\/p>\n

According to Pesticide Action Network, \u201cMcDonald\u2019s made a big public show of their commitment to reduce pesticides, winning them quite a bit of positive attention. The company had their producers take a survey about sustainable practices, but instead of publicizing actual reductions in pesticide use, they simply launched an\u00a0ad campaign praising their potato producers<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overall, the coalition\u2019s concerns went largely unaddressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow we are turning to consumers and the public to help us demand change,\u201d says White Earth Indian Reservation resident Robert Shimek, a founding member of Toxic Taters Coalition<\/a>. They want McDonald\u2019s to get its largest potato supplier, R.D. Offutt Company, to cut back on hazardous pesticides.<\/p>\n

Shimek\u00a0believes McDonald\u2019s will hear the people out, just like they did on the issue of Styrofoam cups back in 2013. But let\u2019s also remember that it took McDonald\u2019s 20 years to phase out polystyrene-based, clamshell food containers, despite knowing their negative environmental impact.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s up to us to make some noise.<\/p>\n

Are we going to poison birds, bees, beings, frogs and animals in the name of substandard, fattening fries?<\/p>\n

As the largest buyer of potatoes in the world, McDonald\u2019s, a $7 billion fast-food chain, has the power to create change in potato-producing regions way beyond Minnesota. All it has to do is require its potato suppliers implement strategies to reduce the use of pesticides.<\/p>\n

The Organic Consumers Association<\/a>, along with the Toxic Tater Coalition, is urging folks to create a buzz. They want McDonald\u2019s to require RDO, and other companies that supply its potatoes, \u201cto follow the lead of Idaho potato growers who have successfully used integrated pest management [IPM] strategies to reduce pesticide use. Interestingly, by implementing IPM techniques, Idaho potato growers have also\u00a0increased their profits<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tell McDonald\u2019s to do the right thing<\/a> and transition to truly sustainable potato production.<\/p>\n

_________________________________<\/p>\n

Originally published at HoneyColony.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

You Might Also Like:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Monsanto Supersizes Farmers\u2019 Weed Problem, But Science Can Help<\/a><\/p>\n

Pesticides in Produce: Which Fruits and Veggies Are in The \u2018Dirty Dozen\u2019 and \u2018Clean 15\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

5 Dangerous Substances Big Ag Pumps Into Your Meat<\/a><\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 ecowatch.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

McDonald\u2019s french fries are suspected of killing farm animals and poisoning wildlife and Minnesotans, including students and farmers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42705\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}