Dear John,

As the days grow short and the solstice approaches, many of us slow down and
turn inward, toward preparation for the year ahead. The same is true for monarch
butterflies, who are now clustered together in their millions on trees in their
overwintering grounds. But today, these monarchs are facing extinction. Help save the monarch butterfly: Donate $10 or more to Friends of the Earth.
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After a long summer of activity across North America, millions of these colorful
creatures flew up to 3,000 miles south. It is one of the animal kingdom’s most
spectacular migrations: No other insect in the world migrates such a distance,
over several generations, to places it has never been before. Butterflies
nestled in their overwintering grounds today are the great-great-grandchildren
of the monarchs that left last spring.

But last year, the number of monarchs that reached their overwintering grounds
in Mexico declined by 53%. Populations are plummeting across the board, and
Monsanto’s Roundup is a key factor in this devastating die-off.

Help stop Monsanto from wiping out the monarchs! Rush a $10 donation to Friends
of the Earth.

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation
will go through immediately:

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[[link removed]]For many years, the winter life of monarchs was a mystery. It wasn’t until 1975
that the scientific community finally tracked down where the monarchs go in the
winter. Many of them end up in a tiny, six-hectare area of mountaintop forests
in central Mexico, nearly two miles above sea level. There, millions of monarchs
cluster together, densely packed, spending most of their winter covering the
native Oyamel fir trees like a blanket. Other monarchs overwinter in sheltered
bays along the California coast.

But over the last two decades, what used to be a flood of butterflies migrating
south each year has dwindled to a trickle. At the same time, the amount of
Roundup being used each year has increased dramatically. Use jumped from only 11
million pounds in 1987 to nearly 300 million pounds in 2016.

And across large swaths of the U.S., milkweed -- the only food young monarchs
eat -- has been wiped out by Roundup, and the monarch butterflies that depend on
it are being decimated.

What’s worse, a recent study found every single sample of milkweed tested was
contaminated -- scientists found 64 different pesticides in the plants, and one
third of samples contained pesticides at levels known to be deadly to monarchs.

This poisoning of the only food source for monarch caterpillars is one more
devastating factor driving monarchs to the brink. And it’s all for the sake of
corporate greed. Big Ag and fossil fuel corporations are driving monarch
butterfly decline through pesticides, climate change, and habitat loss. The
drive for profit at any cost is devastating our pollinators and our planet.

We can’t let Monsanto drive monarch butterflies to extinction. Support monarchs
with a $10 donation to Friends of the Earth.

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation
will go through immediately:

Donate $10 immediately
[[link removed]] Donate $5/month immediately
[[link removed]]At Friends of the Earth, we know how to stop Big Ag and save vulnerable species.
It’s what we’re built for. Our strategy includes a nationwide ban on neonics and
other toxic pesticides that kill bees and butterflies. At the same time, we’re
pushing major grocery companies like Kroger to stop selling food grown with
these chemicals. And we just launched a new campaign to move Home Depot and
Lowe’s to follow Costco’s lead and pull Roundup from its shelves.

Together, we’ve already transformed the garden industry, including convincing
Home Depot, Lowe’s, Costco, True Value, Ace Hardware and Walmart to eliminate
bee-killing pesticides in garden plants. This is the kind of bold campaigning
that can shift us away from pesticide-intensive agriculture and make pollinator-
and people-friendly organic food available for all.

Our plan has the power to win comprehensive protections for monarch butterflies,
people and the planet. But we’ve got to act fast, before these beautiful and
iconic pollinators disappear forever.

Make a generous contribution today, and help Friends of the Earth save the
monarchs and our food system!

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation
will go through immediately:

Donate $10 immediately
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[[link removed]]Thank you,
Lisa Archer,
Food and agriculture program director,
Friends of the Earth

Contact Us:Friends of the Earth U.S.

Washington, D.C. | Berkeley, CA

1-877-843-8687

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