Dear John,
Dow Chemical just announced that it will stop selling the toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos. This is a huge victory to decrease pesticide use in our environment.
Chlorpyrifos is the second most toxic pesticide to bees. It’s linked to brain damage -- and the risks from exposure are even higher for kids. In short, this chemical is terrible for both our environment and public health, especially for our children.
Dow’s decision came after pressure from Friends of the Earth members like you pushed states from California to New York to ban chlorpyrifos. And those states acted in response to your calls, emails, and in-person actions.
Dow’s recent announcement is a huge win in the fight against poisonous pesticides. But we can’t trust Dow’s voluntary action to protect us from this pesticide -- other companies are still making and selling it. We need a national ban on chlorpyrifos. You helped push states and Dow to act -- now, we need you to turn up the heat on Congress!
Get this brain-damaging pesticide out of our environment: Tell Congress to pass a national ban on chlorpyrifos!
Chlorpyrifos was banned for home use in 2001 due to its clear impact on children’s developing brains in even the tiniest amounts. But under the Trump Administration, pesticide companies have remained unaccountable for the devastation caused by pesticide use on our crops and in our environment.
Chlorpyrifos increases the risk of reduced IQ, loss of memory, and autism. Yet EPA scientists said children are routinely exposed to unsafe levels through food and water alone. This pesticide poses a huge and unnecessary threat to children's health and all of us.
What’s worse, farmers, farmworkers, and rural communities are especially at risk of being harmed by chlorpyrifos. Nearly 50 farmworkers on a single farm were poisoned just 2 months after Trump’s EPA said they won’t ban it.
With states across the country taking action, it’s clear that Dow saw the writing on the wall and decided to stop selling this toxic pesticide. Now Congress must follow suit. Our legislators must protect people and our planet by passing a nationwide ban on brain-damaging chlorpyrifos.
Hold Congress accountable: Demand your legislators pass a national ban on brain-damaging chlorpyrifos!
The science is clear: Chlorpyrifos has no business in our food system or our environment. You know it. Dow knows it. And Congress knows it.
During the Obama Administration, the EPA looked at the science and proposed a national ban on this nerve gas pesticide. But pressure from corporations like Dow allowed Congress to drag its feet on enacting the ban. Now, there’s no excuse.
So far, states are taking the lead. Hawai’i, California and New York have all taken steps to ban it. Dow’s decision to stop selling it is progress. But we need Congress to step up and protect everyone from this toxic pesticide.
Kick chlorpyrifos out our environment for good: Tell Congress to ban this poisonous pesticide nationwide!
Standing with you,
Lisa Archer,
Food and agriculture program director,
Friends of the Earth
