Dear John,
Last week, Donald Trump’s administration defied a court ruling and refused to ban Dow’s toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos. This pesticide harms children’s developing brains and is the second-most toxic pesticide to bees.
This happened despite the fact that U.S. beekeepers lost an average of nearly half of their hives in the last year. 40 percent of invertebrate pollinator species, including bees and butterflies, are on the brink of extinction. And one of every three bites of food you and I eat is pollinated by bees and other pollinators.
In short, Trump is putting Dow Chemical’s profits ahead of our food system, bees, and children’s health. If we want to save the bees and ourselves, we must act NOW.
Help get bee-killing pesticides out of our food system: Donate $10 or more NOW!
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Chlorpyrifos is so toxic that the EPA’s own scientists have determined that there is no safe level of exposure. It threatens more than 1,200 endangered species. And it has been linked to neurodevelopmental impacts -- like ADHD, autism spectrum disorder and lower IQ.
The Obama administration realized how dangerous chlorpyrifos is. It banned this pesticide right before President Obama left office. But in a blatant giveaway to Dow Chemical -- which donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee -- Trump reversed the ban.
Chlorpyrifos is widely used in agriculture. So if we want to protect our families and bees from these toxic pesticides, we need to get them out of our food system. At Friends of the Earth, we’re working to push supermarkets, states across the country, and Congress to phase out chlorpyrifos -- but we can’t do this without you, John.
Help save bees from toxic pesticides: Donate $10 or more before it’s too late!
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The science is clear that we should ban chloryprifos and other toxic pesticides. But companies like Dow and Bayer-Monsanto are making millions in profits from these chemicals.
But with Friends of the Earth members like you at our side, I know we can take on these huge corporations and their cronies in the Trump administration and save bees from toxic pesticides.
We have a comprehensive plan to get toxic pesticides out of our food system and stem insect declines:
- We’re working with progressive champions in Congress to introduce legislation to restrict pesticides nationwide. We’re building support for a suite of pollinator protections in Congress -- from the Saving America’s Pollinators Act to a bill to ban chlorpyrifos. Together, we can push Congress to take a strong stand against Big Ag and protect our wild places and rural communities.
- Friends of the Earth is exposing the pesticide industry’s cozy ties to the Trump administration, revealing a revolving employment door for pesticide industry executives and the suppression of science on pesticides’ harm to human and pollinator health.
- We recently held a petition delivery with allies outside the EPA and delivered nearly 150,000 comments demanding that the agency ban Monsanto’s Roundup® -- another pesticide that harms pollinators. The pressure is working -- the EPA just extended the comment period to seek even more public input.
- We’re working at the state and local levels to protect pollinators from pesticides. In the last few months alone, New York and Vermont passed bills to ban pollinator-toxic pesticides like neonics and chlorpyrifos, and California announced a new plan to ban chlorpyrifos. We’re continuing work in five other states to pass bills to ban toxic pesticides, including glyphosate. Plus, we’re working with cities to pass policies to ban this and other toxic pesticides.
- We’re pushing food retailers to eliminate pesticides, including glyphosate, from their supply chains. In response to pressure from Friends of the Earth members like you, Kroger just updated its pollinator policy to reduce the use of bee-killing pesticides in the food it sells and increase its organic offerings. But the commitment is non-binding and insufficient. So we’ll keep pushing Kroger to do better -- while demanding other supermarket giants follow suit.
These actions won’t only help bees. Butterflies and a host of other insects are dying at alarming rates. Scientists are warning if we don’t stem insect decline, we could soon face the “catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems.” We must greatly reduce our use of pesticides if we are to save these crucial species.
You know that when we work together, we can move mountains. You and I have 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.
But bees are still at risk thanks to the toxic way we grow our food. And 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 bees from toxic pesticides!
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Standing with you,
Tiffany Finck-Haynes,
Pesticides and pollinators program manager,
Friends of the Earth
