BERRIES READY FOR FESTIVAL : DESPITE INDUSTRY'S WOES, FRUIT ABOUNDS.Byline: Jesse Hiestand Daily News Staff Writer It's hard to believe that something as delicate and delectable as strawberries could generate so much controversy. Controversy about the use of methyl bromide methyl bromide Toxicology An insecticide and rodenticide, which is a volatile fumigant 3-fold denser than air and absorbed through skin, producing narcosis, pulmonary edema, renal tubule damage, jacksonian convulsions, CNS depression, peripheral neuropathy; and about working conditions for berry pickers has threatened to tarnish tarnish, n 1. surface discoloration or loss of luster by metals. Under oral conditions, it often results from hard and soft deposits. 2. a chemical process by which a metal surface is discolored or its luster destroyed. the image of the sweet red fruit, as has a recent hepatitis scare. Nonetheless, growers say they have produced an excellent crop this season, so next month's California Strawberry Festival A Strawberry Festival is an event and celebration in many towns in North America. In most instances, areas around these towns are, or have been, deeply involved in the production and marketing of strawberries, and the festivals are usually held in late spring around the time of the is reason to celebrate. ``It was a very favorable growing season growing season, period during which plant growth takes place. In temperate climates the growing season is limited by seasonal changes in temperature and is defined as the period between the last killing frost of spring and the first killing frost of autumn, at which ,'' said Mike Conroy
An accountant by profession, Mike Conroy , who grows strawberries on 90 acres on the Oxnard Plain. ``We had early rains in December and January and a dry February and March.'' Warms days, cool nights and moderate rains were welcomed across the plain, where farmers and field hands are at the peak of harvesting 5,200 acres of strawberries. Berries are second only to lemons in Ventura County, which produces more than 20 percent of California's berry crop. ``It's a crop that has rooted itself well here in the county,'' said Don DeArmond, general manager of the local Statewide Cooling Co. ``The coastal climate seems to offer the perfect growing conditions.'' The fruit is such a mainstay of local agriculture that Oxnard throws a party in its honor each year. The 14th annual California Strawberry Festival will be May 17 and 18 at the Strawberry Meadows of College Park on South Rose Avenue. For two days, festivalgoers will be served strawberries fresh and sliced, pureed, baked into cakes, pizzas and kebabs and liquefied into assorted beverages. Top musical acts, rides and games and shopping at arts and crafts arts and crafts, term for that general field of applied design in which hand fabrication is dominant. The term was coined in England in the late 19th cent. as a label for the then-current movement directed toward the revivifying of the decorative arts. booths also will keep the crowds busy. But just as some people find joy in all things strawberry, others see problems with the way the crop is grown, harvested and processed. Environmental groups are among those opposed to the use of methyl bromide, a highly toxic highly toxic Occupational medicine adjective Referring to a chemical that 1. Has a median lethal dose–LD50 of ≤ 50 mg/kg when administered orally to 200-300 g albino rats 2. chemical that is pumped into the ground to kill fungi, weed seeds and worms before the crop is planted. Critics say methyl bromide threatens the health of field workers and the environment, especially for neighbors of the strawberry fields. Methyl bromide ``has certainly been harmful to farm workers historically in their work area as well as their living areas,'' said attorney Eileen McCarthy of the California Rural Legal Assistance Not to be confused with California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation. California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (CRLA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit legal and political advocacy group that promotes the interests of migrant laborers and the rural poor. in Oxnard. But many growers say they would not plant without it. ``It's a necessary tool,'' Conroy said. ``As a grower, I would say production would decrease by 35 to 50 percent without it.'' Sometimes, the precautions taken to ensure a good crop are not at issue, but there are other complaints. Such was the case in late March when nearly 9,000 students and staff members at 18 Los Angeles area schools were served fruit cups with frozen strawberries thought to have been contaminated contaminated, v 1. made radioactive by the addition of small quantities of radioactive material. 2. made contaminated by adding infective or radiographic materials. 3. an infective surface or object. with hepatitis A Hepatitis A Definition Hepatitis A is an inflammation of the liver caused by a virus, the hepatitis A virus (HAV). It varies in severity, running an acute course, generally starting within two to six weeks after contact with the virus, and lasting no . Mass inoculations followed and, so far, no students have tested positive for the virus, according to school officials. Some people were afraid to eat fresh California strawberries, even though the tainted berries were grown in Mexico and processed for the frozen market at a San Diego plant. ``It caused great harm to the fresh market in Ventura County and around the state,'' said DeArmond, whose company keeps roughly half the area's strawberries from spoiling before they get to market. ``Demand and price both fell right after (the hepatitis scare), and it lingered for 2-1/2 to three weeks before it settled down,'' he said. The fruit's public image can also suffer when it gets caught up in the labor disputes between farm owners and field workers. While there have been no major labor clashes in the Oxnard area lately, field workers still have complaints about working conditions, said Gilbert Rodriguez, a local United Farm Workers of America The United Farm Workers of America (UFW) began in 1962 as a coalition of poorly paid migrant farm workers and grew into a powerful Labor Union that has consistently fought to increase wages and improve working conditions for its members. manager. Filthy portable toilets and harassment by foremen are common complaints, he said. Some workers, who are paid about $5 an hour, say they have been forced to take an unpaid, half-hour break as punishment for picking a single green strawberry, he said. ``But people are afraid to talk about it'' to their employers, he said. Even with health scares or other problems, the market for Ventura County strawberries continues to thrive and in fact expand. Flourishing along with the crops is Oxnard's strawberry festival, the largest of its kind in California. Organizers expect as many as 80,000 people to attend the two-day festival this year. ``It's grown to be quite a weekend event,'' DeArmond said. ``We're just hoping for sunny weather and for families to come out and have a good time.'' FESTIVAL EVENTS Games, crafts and entertainment will be featured May 17-18 at the 14th annual California Strawberry Festival in College Park, 3250 S. Rose Ave., Oxnard. Tickets, which will be available at the gate, will be $4 for children 2 to 12 and senior citizens, and $7 for others. There will be no charge for children younger than 2. Parking is available on site. This year's musical lineup will include: May 17 Dr. Kato Stage 10 a.m. - Blues Stew Noon - Chet McCracken Jazz Trio 1:30 p.m. - Lindy lin·dy or Lin·dy n. pl. lin·dies A lively swing dance for couples. Also called lindy hop. [From Lindynickname of Charles Augustus Lindbergh. Hoppers Dance Group (swing dance) 2 p.m. - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is a contemporary swing band from southern California. Their notable singles include "Go Daddy-O" and "You and Me and the Bottle Makes Three Tonight". The band went from a regular Wednesday night gig at the Derby in Hollywood, playing for a few hundred people, (swing) 3:30 p.m. - Big Mountain (reggae, pop) Festival Stage 10 a.m. - Teresa Russell Band (rock and blues) Noon - Estrada Brothers (Latin jazz) 2 p.m. - Hazel Payne & A Taste of Honey (disco) 4 p.m. - Yoka Enzene (rumba and soukous sou·kous n. A rumbalike West African dance music originating in Congo (formerly Zaire). [Perhaps (via Lingala) from French secouer, to shake, from Old French secourre from Zaire) Park Stage 10 a.m. - Iron Mountain Boys (bluegrass bluegrass, any species of the large and widely distributed genus Poa, chiefly range and pasture grasses of economic importance in temperate and cool regions. In general, bluegrasses are perennial with fine-leaved foliage that is bluish green in some species. ) 2 p.m. - Mr. O (jazz guitar trio) May 18 Dr. Kato Stage 10 a.m. - Crosscut (rock and blues) Noon - Stevie Davis & The Stealers (blues) 1:30 p.m.- Papa Nata (reggae, pop, rhythm and blues rhythm and blues (R&B) Any of several closely related musical styles developed by African American artists. The various styles were based on a mingling of European influences with jazz rhythms and tonal inflections, particularly syncopation and the flatted blues chords. ) 3:30 p.m. - War (rhythm and blues, rock) Festival Stage 10 a.m. - Southern Cross (alternative rock) Noon - The Pontiax (blues) 1 p.m. - King Cotton (rhythm and blues) 4 p.m. - Acadiana (Cajun) Park Stage 10 a.m. - Buzzworld (Celtic) 2 p.m. - Domino Effect (pop, hip hop, rhythm and blues) CAPTION(S): Photo, Box Photo: (color) Field supervisor Jon Rippee shows some prime strawberries at Conroy Farm in Oxnard. Phil McCarten/Daily News Box: FESTIVAL EVENTS (see text) |
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