Are we really the clean green bay, when for two months of the year, Hi-Cane or Hydrogen Cyadimide, is used as a bud promotant, on virtually all kiwifruit orchards.
Unlike most other deadly sprays, it has no smell to indicate it's in your vicinity. For many people it's a time when asthma and other health issues seem inevitable, and it's no wonder when animal testing of Hi-Cane overseas has indicated its highly carcinogenic properties. I am concerned for my children, really concerned.
The fact that Hi-Cane is banned in the European Union, indicates international concern over its safety. Can we simply use Hi-Cane more safely? I don't believe so. Not as a rural community, where many school children have to wait outside orchards, and where many family homes are surrounded by orchards, and for many spraying takes place only metres from their back door. I was horrified to hear several bus drivers report spray being seen, drifting over waiting children, and our walkers, cyclists and runners are at real risk. What is the cost – to our community, to the health and wellbeing of our families, for the Earth, and for future generations? Look for the Hi-Cane petition in your area.
T Davies, Paengaroa.