Organic Farm Awarded $1 Million for Pesticide Contamination
A California organic farm was awarded $1 million this week for damages it experienced due to nearby pesticide sprayings.
The organic farm family, Jacobs Farm Del Cabo, said a year’s worth of organic sage, rosemary and dill were ruined when a nearby Brussels sprout farm’s chemicals blew over the fields and contaminated their pesticide-free herbs.
Western Farm Service supplied the pesticides and is reportedly planning to appeal the injury verdict. It blamed the organic farm for “coming to the conventional [farming] area with incompatible crops.”
Hmmm…when you look at the history of human food cultivating—wouldn’t organic farming be considered the “conventional” method for farming food?
"The message from the jury is pretty clear, both to industry and to regulators: It's not acceptable to apply these poisonous chemicals and turn your back on the consequences after the point of application," said an attorney for the organic farm.
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