November 22, 2022

Western Growers Joins Effort Asking Congress to Reaffirm Pesticide Preemption

More than 330 agricultural and environmental stakeholder groups called on Congress in a letter sent on Nov. 14 to reaffirm that states will not impose pesticide regulation in a manner that contradicts federal findings.

Signers of the letter, which includes Western Growers, expressed their concern that some states have begun to regulate pesticides in a manner that could impose additional labeling and packaging requirements that contradict decades of scientific guidance from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The letter states that contradictions on EPA-approved, science-based nationwide labels could put public trust and evidence-based regulation at risk and “erode access to current and future pesticides, threatening crops and grower incomes, conservation practices, public health, vital infrastructure, and ultimately raise food prices for families amidst record-high inflation.”

The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the primary statute governing pesticides, was created to ensure that, although states are permitted to regulate the sale and use of pesticides, they are preempted from requiring additional or different pesticide labels or packaging.