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Victual Reality, the podcast about food politics, is hosted by Tom Philpott. Tom's guest today is Susan Kegley.

In the waning days of the Bush Administration, the EPA executed what will likely go down as the single most egregious decision in its not-always-stellar history: ignoring strong warnings from independent scientists, it approved use of a pesticide so toxic that scientists had previously used it to induce cancer in tissue samples. The chemical, a fumigant called methyl iodide, swiftly went into use in states with significant production of fruit, mainly strawberries. (I chronicled the twisted tale on Grist at the time.) But one key strawberry-growing state held out: California, which subjected methyl iodide to a separate review process. Again, independent scientists cried foul; but now, the state stands on the verge of approving methyl iodide.

In this week’s Victual Reality, the podcast about food politics, I talk to Susan Kegley, organic chemist and long-time science guru for California-based Pesticide Action Network of North America. Susan explains how this stubborn chemical keeps repelling scientists and gaining favor from politicians--and the next steps in the fight to keep it out of America’s fruit fields. To keep up with the story, follow my work on Grist and check Panna’s website, Panna.org.