Nearly
three-quarters of Australia's strawberry crops are grown with methyl bromide. This pesticide is so toxic it was banned decades ago by the UN's Montreal Protocol, which aims to phase out ozone layer-depleting chemicals.

Continuing to use methyl bromide in strawberry crops could have
devastating consequences for the ozone layer, farm workers and anyone else exposed to fumes from the pesticide.

Still Australia's biggest strawberry-growers are committed to using methyl bromide --
so much so that we were threatened with legal action by a strawberry farmer just for sending this petition!

The key to stopping this toxic chemical is convincing large supermarkets like
Woolworths to stop stocking strawberries grown with methyl bromide. This pressure will hit farmers where it matters -- their bottom lines -- and force them to abandon the use of the fumigant for good.

Woolworths, protect your customers. Stop selling strawberries grown with banned pesticides!

Methyl bromide is an acutely toxic chemical used to fumigate the soil of strawberry crops. It is
injected into soil and quickly rises to the surface, depleting the ozone-layer and contaminating the air around it. If inhaled for long periods of time, it can have devastating health effects on humans. And most protective clothing does nothing to stop it.

Australia agreed to phase out methyl bromide in 2005, but the largest strawberry producer in the country is still using a whopping 30 tonnes of it on crops every year. In contrast,
the rest of the world has phased out 85% of the chemical, hailed by the UN as a “win for humankind."

It's simple.
If stores take a stand and refuse to sell food grown with methyl bromide, growers will stop using it.

We know this will work from experience. Just this week,
SumOfUs members convinced North American garden retailer Lowe's to stop stocking toxic chemicals that are killing bees and endangering our entire food supply. Now, we have a chance to show large strawberry farmers that we are dead serious about them following international law and stopping the use of methyl bromide for good!

Ask Woolworths to ban produce grown with the toxic methyl bromide.

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More information:

Pesticide banned worldwide still used to grow 70pc of Australian strawberries ABC News, 29 April 2015

Toxic Substances Portal - Bromomethane ATSDR

Methyl Bromide: Frameworks for viewing pesticide risks, Stanford Law School Case Study, 1998

Methyl Bromide Questions & Answers, United States Environmental Protection Association.