Dear John,
Last year, Bayer the Bee-Slayer and Monsanto the Butterfly-Killer merged. The new pesticide giant represents a huge corporate threat to bees, butterflies and all of us.
Mega-mergers provide the pesticide industry with nearly unchecked power to poison people and our environment. Now, Bayer-Monsanto produces both bee-killing neonics and butterfly-harming Roundup®. And it has even more resources to lobby Congress and Trump not to restrict these pesticides.
The good news: Congress could stop any future Big Ag mega-mergers. The House of Representatives is considering a bill to prevent another disaster like Bayer-Monsanto. With just weeks left in the year, it’s critical that legislators feel pressure to support this bill from constituents like you.
Sign your name: Tell your legislators to stop Big Ag mega-mergers!
Mergers can have disasterous consequences. Merged mega-corporations like Bayer-Monsanto have been pushing even harder with more combined resources to ramp up use of toxic pesticides that harm pollinators like bees and butterflies -- 40 percent of which are on the brink of extinction.
And farmers overwhelmingly think Big Ag mega-mergers are a bad idea. A poll found 93 percent of surveyed farmers opposed the Bayer-Monsanto merger because it would give the corporate giant an unprecedented amount of power over markets.
Why do farmers oppose these mergers? Because they further lock farmers into using toxic pesticides and products. Mergers also make it easier for Big Ag corporations to control the market and set up abusive contracts that are driving family farmers into bankruptcy. And these mergers mean consumers could see higher food prices and even less pesticide-free options.
History shows that corporate mega-mergers hurt farmers and consumers. After merging, corporations gain far too much control over our food system and our politicians. We must put a stop to these corporate power grabs. And we need you with us to stop them!
Sign your name and help put a stop to more Big Ag mega-mergers like Bayer-Monsanto!
Experts agree that monopolies stunt innovation. In the agricultural industry, they also lead to exploitation of farmworkers, increase pressure on small farmers, degrade our environment, and threaten to speed up the decline of bees and other pollinators.
Bees, butterflies and communities across the country urgently need a safer, healthier and more environmentally-friendly food system. But giant pesticide corporations continuously show they’re not interested in safeguarding our future.
These mergers are purely an opportunity for the pesticide industry to soak even more food in dangerous pesticides. We can’t let that happen. And we need help pressuring Congress to sign the Big Ag mega-merger moratorium!
Help break up Big Ag: Tell Congress to stop agricultural mega-mergers and protect our environment!
Standing with you,
Jason Davidson,
Food and agriculture campaign associate,
Friends of the Earth
