Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
8
Public Mobilization
Green Potatoes
The Great Lakes—the most important source of water for the north-
central and the northeastern United States—are quite vulnerable to
human degradation. More than 30 million people depend on the Great
Lakes for drinking water, recreation, and economic uses. Agricultural
non-point-source pollution is a major source of contaminants for the
lakes. The US Environmental Protection Agency has devoted significant
resources to addressing water-quality issues in this area since its incep-
tion. In the 1990s, the World Wildlife Fund held a series of regional
stakeholder meetings to see what could be done to prevent pollution,
especially chemicals causing endocrine disruption, due to their serious
and lasting damage to fish, bird, and animal (including human) life in
this area.
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In the course of these meetings, World Wildlife Fund staff members
learned that many IPM tools existed, at least on the shelf, but that they
were not being adopted in large numbers. After the passage of the Food
Quality Protection Act, the WWF had a series of conversations with
Dean Zuleger, the executive director of the Wisconsin Potato and
Vegetable Growers Association. Zuleger was concerned about how this
act would affect his 350+ growers. Wisconsin potato production
depended heavily on soil fumigants, insecticides, and fungicides, and he
felt his industry was vulnerable to catastrophic disruption due to the loss
of pesticides under the Food Quality Protection Act. The University of
Wisconsin had developed IPM practices, but few association growers
were using them. Zuleger and WWF staff brainstormed. Was there an
opportunity hidden in this looming crisis?
