Cancer victim's fight spurs Loblaws to stop sale of chemical pesticides
Subject: Cancer victim's fight spurs Loblaws to stop sale of chemical pesticides......
Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 10:00:48 -0500
From: Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (http://www.getipm.com/)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State
of California, Department of Pesticide Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
Dear Mr. Helliker, I thought you might like to read an article dated March 13, 2002, from the National Post, with files from Ottawa Citizen entitled: Cancer victim's fight spurs Loblaws to stop sale of chemical pesticides - Executive read about woman's plight in magazine story by Mary Vallis. mvallis@nationalpost.com
A Quebec doctor's prolonged battle with breast cancer has spurred Canada's largest supermarket chain to stop selling chemical pesticides.
Loblaw Co. Ltd announced yesterday that in response to consumer pressure, it will discontinue sales of chemical weed and insect killers in its 440 garden centres by the spring of 2003. It will carry organic alternatives to its current pest-control products instead.
"For cosmetic use, in lawns and gardens where you've got dogs and children running around, when there is a growing abundance of alternative products, this initiative makes so much sense," said Geoff Wilson, a vice-president with the company.
Movement within the company began last year after Peter Cantley, the head of lawn and garden supplies, read a story in Saturday Night magazine about Dr. Nicole Bruinsma, a family doctor living in Chelsea, Que., who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997.
The cancer was a complete surprise: Dr. Bruinsma fell into no risk categories for the disease. Her colleagues affectionately called her a "granola exercise freak" because she lived a healthy lifestyle that served as an example for her patients. She died on Feb. 27, 2002, at the age of 42.
In the years following her diagnosis, however, Dr. Bruinsma investigated environmental links that can cause cancer and spearheaded efforts to ban chemical pesticides in Chelsea and throughout Canada.
Her efforts reached all levels of government, from her town's council to a House of Commons environmental committee that held hearings on pesticide use. She was also involved in a landmark Supreme Court of Canada ruling last year, which upheld the right of Hudson, Que., to ban pesticides on public and private property after two chemical companies complained.
As Mr. Cantley conducted his own research into chemical pesticides, the more convinced he became that his garden centres should not sell the products.
"The conclusion was very self evident -- that this was an initiative we should get behind," Mr. Wilson said. "We gather there are going to be a lot more municipalities that are doing what Hudson did in Quebec, so we said it was the right direction to go."
Quebec municipalities were the first in Canada to consider pesticide bans, but the movement has spread. Halifax has decided to phase out chemical sprays on residential lawns by April 1, 2003. Toronto and Mississauga, which have recently cracked down on chemical use in public spaces, are also discussing the issue.
The company's announcement would have delighted Dr. Bruinsma, Scott Findlay, her husband, said yesterday.
"It's superb. I think that the organic farming initiative is very valuable and very valid. I would like to see greater markets for organic produce, and clearly with a major distributor of foods on board this is going to make a huge impact."
Scientists have found molecules in some pesticides can disrupt hormones in living creatures, which have been linked to a wide array of ailments, including cancer. The World Health Organization estimates 200,000 people die worldwide each year as a direct result of pesticide poisoning.
"This is the right thing for [Loblaws] to do," said Julie White, chief executive of the Canadian Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute of Canada. "Loblaws is a very savvy marketer. [Their decision] points out that there is a market, in fact, for environmentally safe garden products. That alone will encourage other retailers to move in that direction."
http://www.nationalpost.com/search/story.html?f=/stories/20020313/320327.html&qs=pesticide
Adrian Wyld, The Canadian Press
Dr. Nicole Bruinsma of Chelsea, Que., who died last month after a five-year
battle with cancer, led a fight to ban chemical pesticides.
Well Mr. Helliker, What do you think is the right thing to do?
Respectfully, Stephen L. Tvedten
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