An ad campaign by Big Sugar is leaving a bitter taste with Florida environmentalists.
In a story from the Miami Herald, thousands of mailers sent to South Florida residents extolled regulations set up by the sugar industry and signed by Gov. Rick Scott in May. The law adds a $25-per-acre tax on cane fields to pay for over $880 million in expansion of projects to reduce farm pollution.
In the ad, “smart farming techniques” will preserve the Everglades and help restoration, with the state spending nearly $400 million so far. Florida Crystals, U.S. Sugar and the Florida Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative — three of the biggest producers for Big Sugar—created the ad which targets key communities and area residents.
Local environmental groups disagree with the two advocate groups quoted in support of the new law — Florida Audubon and the Everglades Foundation. Other environmental activists think the industry should do more to reduce pollution. They maintain the industry has not been called on for their share of clean-up costs, instead leaving South Florida taxpayers to pick up the tab.
Meteoric Media Strategies, the ad’s creators, would not discuss the price or the extent of the targeted coverage with reporters. They referred to it as a “modest” campaign.
