Aerial Spraying Update

Maine’s Environmental Priorities Coalition (EPC) announced its common agenda for climate and environment legislation. Senate President Troy Jackson is leading the charge on one of the EPC’s priority bills: “LD 125: An Act To Prohibit the Aerial Spraying of Glyphosate and Other Synthetic Herbicides for the Purpose of Silviculture.” Glyphosate is linked to serious health impacts, and aerial herbicide spraying reduces food and habitat for wildlife and results in chemical persistence in the environment. Herbicide spray drift can travel great distances – even miles – and threaten the health and economic livelihood of organic farmers. Contaminated produce cannot be marketed as organic, and farm families whose land is contaminated by pesticide drift must surrender their organic certification for three years, through no fault of their own. Please talk with your legislators and ask them to support policies that reduce Maine’s reliance on pesticides – starting with Senate President Jackson’s LD 125. To get involved, please contact Heather Spalding at [email protected].