Food safety and environmental quality impose
conflicting demands on Central Coast growers
Growers of fresh produce on the Central Coast of California currently face conflicting demands regarding measures to protect food safety and those to protect environmental quality. To explore the extent of conflicting pressures and identify the range of possible impacts on the environment, California Agriculture conducted a survey of Central Coast irrigated-row-crop growers during spring 2007.
The results indicate that growers are experiencing a clear conflict, and some are incurring economic hardships because their practices to protect the environment have resulted in the
rejection of crops by buyers. In addition, some growers are being encouraged to or are actively removing conservation practices
for water quality, and most growers are taking action to
discourage or eliminate wildlife from and adjacent to croplands.
These actions could affect large areas of land on the Central Coast and, as indicated by growers, they are likely to increase over time.
The Central Coast contains some of
the greatest biodiversity of any temperate
region in the world. At its heart
is the Monterey Bay National Marine
Sanctuary, the largest marine sanctuary
in the United States, and the Elkhorn
Slough National Estuarine Research
Reserve.
While the Central Coast houses
many natural resources, according
to the Central Coast Regional Water
Quality Control Board (CCRWQCB),
it also has some of the most polluted
waters in California. The Pajaro River
and Elkhorn Slough are listed as impaired
for sediment and nutrients under
California’s 2002 Section 303(d) of
the 1972 Clean Water Act. The Salinas
River is 303(d)-listed as impaired for
sediment, nutrients, pesticides and
pathogens.
In 2003, the 20-year-old state
Agricultural Waiver of Nonpoint Source
Discharge ended, meaning that growers
are no longer exempt from water quality laws.
In response, the CCRWQCB
adopted a Conditional Waiver Program
in 2005, which requires growers to
enroll in the program, attend water quality
training sessions, adopt farm
water-quality management plans, complete
management practice checklists
and participate in water quality monitoring
(Cal EPA 2007).
An important aspect of these efforts
is the adoption of conservation practices,
which aim to improve and protect water
quality, prevent soil erosion, reduce the
use of agricultural chemicals and protect
wildlife. Vegetation on and around
farmland is a key component, including
vegetated field borders, grassed waterways,
riparian buffers and constructed
wetlands.
For the past decade, the
Central Coast farming community has
been proactively working with resource
agencies to develop and implement
voluntary conservation practices to
improve water quality and reduce water
consumption through the adoption
and implementation of the Monterey
Bay National Marine Sanctuary’s
Agricultural and Rural Lands Plan
(MBNMS 1999). Adoption of these practices
has now become a key component
for compliance with the CCRWQCB’s
Conditional Waiver Program.
Despite an
intensive investigation, the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) and
the California Department of Health
Services (CDHS) have not been able
to conclusively determine the specific
causes of the spinach outbreak (CDHS/
FDA 2007).
In early 2007, with oversight by
the California Department of Food
and Agriculture (CDFA), produce
industry representatives developed
the California Leafy Green Products
Handler Marketing Agreement (see
www.caleafygreens.ca.gov). More than
100 handlers (companies that move
fresh produce products from growers
to retail and food-service buyers) are
signatories. Representing more than
99% of the leafy greens production in
California, they are obligated to handle
leafy green produce only from growers
who adhere to the best management
practices detailed in the Commodity
Specific Food Safety Guidelines for the
Production and Harvest of Lettuce and
Leafy Greens, known as the “Metrics” (see
www.caleafygreens.ca.gov). The
Metrics were developed and continue
to be updated through a process involving
the produce industry, government
agencies, natural resource organizations
and scientists.
In addition to the Metrics, many companies
and retailers who handle or sell
leafy greens have developed their own
company-specific food safety requirements,
which also affect farm management
practices. Because growers often
sell their crops to multiple buyers, most
now must meet at least one if not several
different sets of requirements. In addition,
field interpretations of the Metrics
and company-specific guidelines vary.
Specific measures stated or implied
in the Metrics and company-specific
requirements may potentially conflict
with efforts to improve and protect water
quality and support wildlife habitat.
Eight percent (8.0%)
of growers reported that their crops had
been rejected based on the presence of
practices to improve water quality or
wildlife habitat on the farm. Some of
the explanations shared by respondents
included:
- Lost $17,500 worth of crop due to
deer tracks.
- 1 acre of romaine lettuce rejected
due to proximity to horse pen.
- 23 acres of head lettuce and 2 acres
of mixed lettuce rejected due to contact
with Salinas River floodwater.
- Crop rejected due to potential frog
habitat.
- Portions of fields rejected by processor
if frogs, tadpoles, snails, mice or
other small animals were found.
- Harvest stopped due to the presence
of frogs and tadpoles in creek.
- Crop rejected due to deer intrusion.
- Crops planted for processor near trees
needed a buffer of 100 to 150 feet.
Some 88.9% of
the survey respondents indicated that
they had adopted at least one measure
to actively discourage or eliminate
wildlife from cropped areas
Wildlife exclusion. Some 88.9% of
the survey respondents indicated that
they had adopted at least one measure
to actively discourage or eliminate
wildlife from cropped areas
Conservation practice abandonment.
Approximately 15% of all growers
surveyed indicated that they had
removed or discontinued the use of
previously adopted conservation practices
in response to suggestions made
by auditors or buyers due to food safety
concerns.
The survey results illustrate that
growers are in the middle of a clear
conflict between current food safety
standards and continued efforts to address
water quality and environmental
concerns on the Central Coast.
The process and standards for protecting
food safety in leafy greens on
the Central Coast of California set a
precedent that will certainly be modeled
for other crops and growing regions
nationwide.
M. Beretti is Program Director, Resource Conservation
District of Monterey County, Salinas; and D.
Stuart is Doctoral Candidate, Department of Environmental
Studies, UC Santa Cruz.
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