SUBMITTED BY FLUORIDE ACTION NETWORK – Sunday, June 2, 2013

This request is urgent for all of us living in the U.S. and Puerto Rico:

As early as THIS MONDAY (June 3), the U.S. Senate may vote on an Amendment to the Farm Bill (Section 122) that will prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from phasing out the use of sulfuryl fluoride as a fumigant on countless foods made in the U.S. No other western country, besides Australia, allows this toxic fluoride fumigant to enter the food supply.

The Amendment, introduced by Senator Joe Donnelly (D-Indiana), removes key health protections from the Food Quality Protection Act, a law passed in 1996 to ensure that pesticide exposures do not harm children. The Amendment eliminates the protections for fluoride, but no other chemical. A proposed House Bill seeks to do the same thing, but the Amendment is far more worrying because, as a fly-by night addition to an enormous bill, it will receive far less scrutiny and be much harder to defeat than a stand alone piece of legislation. (FAN only learned about it today.)

If the Amendment passes, there will be little that can be done to prevent the indefinite fumigation of the food supply with fluoride. This in turn will make it harder for anyone living in the U.S. to avoid fluoride, as foods fumigated with sulfuryl fluoride have no labeling requirement.

There is still time to prevent this from happening, but we need to act as quickly as the industry lobbyists seeking to fast track it through. Here’s what we need your help with:

1.) Send a e-mail letter to your Senator.         boxer.senate.gov/en/contact

Office of U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-3553

Senator Dianne Feinstein

United States Senate
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Phone: (202) 224-3841
Fax: (202) 228-3954
TTY/TDD: (202) 224-2501

2.) Call your Senator.  Phone calls are more influential than emails, and Senate staff does take note of constituent positions on issues.

3.) Please forword this bulletin to friends and family via email and share on Facebook and other social media sites.

Thank you,

Stuart Cooper