Dear John,
Trump’s EPA has failed to protect bees and our health. It refuses to ban the toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos.
Even tiny amounts of chlorpyrifos can harm bees and hinder the development of children’s brains. But thanks to Trump’s refusal to act, it’s still being used on our food.
The good news: Congress is considering legislation to ban all uses of this incredibly harmful pesticide. But your Representative won’t act unless they hear from you, John!
Protect bees, people and our planet from toxic pesticides: Tell your Representative to ban brain-damaging chlorpyrifos!
Chlorpyrifos is extremely toxic -- and our leaders know it. They banned it for home use in 2000.
But it’s still widely used in agriculture. Farmers, farmworkers and rural communities are especially at risk of immediate and long-term adverse health impacts due to direct exposure to chlorpyrifos during agricultural pesticide application.
And the impacts are clear -- a few years ago, 50 workers in California were exposed to chlorpyrifos that drifted from a nearby field. This caused workers to vomit. One of them even fainted. Imagine what long-term exposure could do!
What’s more, chlorpyrifos is linked to bee decline. It’s the second-most toxic pesticide to bees. And the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that it threatens more than 1,200 endangered species.
Under the Obama administration, the EPA found there were no safe levels of exposure to chlorpyrifos and proposed a national ban. But almost as soon as Trump took office, he reversed the decision. Now we need Congress to step in and protect us from this toxic pesticide.
Take action now: Tell Congress to ban the bee-killing and brain-damaging pesticide chlorpyrifos NOW!
The science is clear: Chlorpyrifos has no business in our food system. So why hasn’t Trump’s EPA banned it? Perhaps because its manufacturer, Dow Chemical, has a cozy relationship with the Trump Administration. Dow donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee just weeks before Trump reversed the ban on chlorpyrifos.
This means that we need Congress to step up and prioritize the interests of the American public over Dow’s corporate profits. Protecting our bees, children and public health is a bipartisan issue. But we need you, John, to push your legislator to join this fight.
Protect bees and our children from toxic chlorpyrifos: Urge your member of Congress to ban Dow’s nerve gas pesticide!
Standing with you,
Lisa Archer,
Food and agriculture program director,
Friends of the Earth
