Establish a maximum seasonal use rate and increase the time between application and harvest. Lower the tolerance for pome fruit from 2.0 ppm to 1.5 ppm now and to 1.0 ppm in 2001. The registrants also have committed to ground and surface water monitoring programs in sensitive areas. Clearly, minor crops and minor uses suffer the most. They are not even asked to the negotiation table.
Consumers also suffer.
As our illustration above demonstrates, we can increase food costs by simply shifting the exact same risk from domestic production to imports. We are increasing health risks by making it more expensive to buy fruits and vegetables. The effect is substantially greater on low-income families who have to spend a greater percentage of their income to buy food. The last time we did this, it worked. The additional restriction of methyl parathion and azinphos-methyl is serious, but there are even more important pesticides in the queue.