Farmworkers have claimed for years that contact with pesticides has left them battling cancer, neurological disorders and other ailments. A new technology aims to weed out pesticides by turning to steam. National advocacy group Farmworker Justice has been fighting the use of toxic pesticides on c rops for years. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that roughly 10,000 to 20,000 farmworkers suffer from acute pesticide poisonings every year. Shinta Kawahara Family Farms in Santa Cruz County believes it has found a better way. The organic farm is testing new technology that uses high pressure steam, instead of toxic fumigants, to prep the soil before a plant or seed goes into the ground. Rod Koda’s farm was one of the first in the nation to begin testing the steam technology, and he believes it’s working. “I don’t have the plant mortality, and the fruit would be bigger because the plant is not stressed, the root is not stressed,” Koda said. Researchers say the steam serves as a herbicide and reduces plant disease by 70%, killing the soil pests. The strawberry commission is on board, as is David Sanford, the agriculture commissioner in Santa Cruz County. “It’s early on in their field trials, but the work that we’ve seen so far is pretty promising and it shows a lot of potential,” Sanford said. “It needs research. It needs work.” The hope is to one day limit or eliminate the need for pesticides on crops. “This is the first season and it’s really exciting,” Koda said. ...read more read less