Like paparazzi chasing a celebrity, Bay Area media have vigilantly followed the whereabouts and goings-on of California's newest exotic pest, the light brown apple moth. ANR scientists continue to be a valuable source of information.
Today, the Berkeley Daily Planet quoted UC Berkeley entomology professor Miguel Altieri. According to the article, Altiere said CDFA's plan to eradicate the light brown apple moth “is like the 9-11 terrorist policy applied to agriculture."
On Monday, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a story about health problems associated with moth pheromone treatments designed to eradicate LBAM.
Reporter Jane Kay interviewed Ron Tjeerdema, a UC Davis toxicology professor and a member of the state agricultural department's task force on the aerial spraying. According to the article, he said he reviewed the list of ingredients and didn't find anything of particular concern, adding that the ingredients are found in other products.
But Megan Schwarzman, a research scientist in UC Berkeley's School of Public Health, cautioned that just because the chemicals are found in other products "doesn't indicate their toxicity or their safety," Kay's story says.
For all the latest scientific information on LBAM, read the current issue of California Agriculture journal. The cover story will tell you "everything you always wanted to know about LBAM but were afraid to ask," according to managing editor Janet Byron. Byron wrote a news release, being distributed to the media today, that gives a synopsis of the article's content.
