Tell Kroger: Stop selling food that contains brain-damaging, bee-killing pesticides

Tell Kroger: Stop selling food that contains brain-damaging, bee-killing pesticides.

Tell Kroger: "Immediately phase out the sale of all food in your stores containing bee-killing, brain-harming and cancer-causing pesticides and commit to selling more organic food." Add your name:

A new report released by our allies at Friends of the Earth found many common grocery staples, including pinto beans, apples, cheerios and spinach at top grocery chains, including Kroger, contain glyphosate, organophosphate and neonicotinoid pesticides – all chemicals that are extremely harmful to human health, pollinator populations and our environment.1 This is absolutely terrifying: Kid-friendly foods like breakfast cereal and applesauce made and sold by Kroger, the nation's largest grocery chain, contain cancer-causing pesticide residue that is harmful to honeybees and linked to brain damage in children. Parents and consumers should never have to worry about the safety of the food they buy and feed to their families. We must call on Kroger to immediately phase out foods containing these toxic chemicals and commit to selling more organic foods. Tell Kroger: Stop selling food that contains brain-damaging, bee-killing pesticides. Click here to sign the petition. Pesticide residue on foods, even in small quantities, can have damaging effects on humans, especially babies and children whose brains are still developing.2 Organophosphates, one class of pesticides found in food sold at Kroger, are extremely toxic and linked to neurological disorders, long-term damage to children's brains and cancer. Rachel Carson, the author of Silent Spring, once called them "among the most poisonous chemicals in the world," and they're in the same chemical family as sarin nerve gas.3,4 Glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto's toxic Roundup weed killer, has long been considered a possible carcinogen, and the EPA acknowledged that long-term exposure to high levels of glyphosate can cause kidney and reproductive damage.5 But it's not just human health either. Neonicotinoids are linked to the widespread collapse of bee populations, jeopardizing our food supply and domestic agriculture industry. The unchecked use of glyphosate on food crops threatens monarch butterfly populations, which have seen an 80 percent drop since the 1990s.6 We know massive public pressure can force major chains to take action to reduce pesticides. Along with our partners, CREDO members have successfully pressured retailers like Home Depot, Walmart and True Value to phase out bee-killing neonics.7 After CREDO, Friends of the Earth and dozens of our allies ramped up pressure on Costco, the mega-chain committed to phasing out plants and produce treated with neonics and chlorpyrifos (an organophosphate pesticide) and to sell more bee-friendly, organic alternatives. Kroger has no excuse to continue selling food that is harmful to humans and our environment. Please join us to demand it stops selling food grown with toxic pesticides. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/kroger-pesticides?t=7&akid=31547%2E3130208%2E5_C_jX -Josh Nelson, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Friends of the Earth, "Toxic Secret," accessed Feb. 8, 2019. Pesticide Action Network, "Children," accessed Feb. 8, 2019. Rachel Carson, "Silent Spring," 1962. Zoë Schlanger, "The US government is ignoring its own scientists’ warning that a Dow pesticide causes brain damage in children," Quartz, March 30, 2017. Environmental Protection Agency, "Technical Factsheet on: GLYPHOSATE," accessed Feb. 8, 2019. Natural Resources Defense Council, "Save Monarch Butterflies," accessed Feb. 8, 2019. Friends of the Earth, "Walmart and True Value to Phase Out Bee-Killing Pesticides While Ace Hardware Lags Behind," May 3, 2017.

Tell the EPA: Ban bee-killing pesticides

The petition to the Environmental Protection Agency reads: "Toxic neonicotinoid pesticides are killing off honeybee populations at an alarming rate. The European Union recently recognized this and agreed to ban the use of neonicotinoids. Join them and immediately ban bee-killing pesticides to prevent further widespread bee colony collapse." Add your name:

The European Union has finally listened to scientists and banned all outdoor use of neonicotinoids – the pesticides linked to the widespread collapse of bee populations.1 This is a major victory for our environment and food systems, but the United States continues to ignore the evidence and uses these toxic chemicals in huge amounts. It is past time that the EPA bans bee-killing pesticides once and for all. Tell the EPA: Ban all bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides. Click here to sign the petition. New large-scale studies have confirmed the role of neonicotinoids – the most widely used pesticides in the world – in the dramatic decline of honeybee populations.2 The studies show that these toxic nerve agents not only harm individual bees, but also are linked to the slow collapse of colonies. Bees and other pollinators play a vital role in the production of many nuts, fruits and vegetables in our diets. Pollinators enable an astounding 35 percent of global food production and contribute more than $24 billion annually to the U.S. economy.2 But the number of managed honeybee colonies in the United States has declined from 6 million in the 1940s to less than 3 million today – jeopardizing our food supply and domestic agriculture industry.3 And the outlook for bees is getting worse. More than 700 bee species in the United States are declining, and nearly one in four is at increasing risk of extinction.4 The European Union has finally taken action to protect bees and food systems, but that doesn't help the bees here in the United States. We need the EPA to join the European Union and ban these pesticides – now. Tell the EPA: Ban all bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/ban-neonics?t=7&akid=28451%2E3130208%2Eqgoqr4 - Brandy Doyle, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Damian Carrington, "EU agrees total ban on bee-harming pesticides," The Guardian, April 27, 2018. Roni Dengler, "Neonicotinoid pesticides are slowly killing bees," PBS News Hour, June 29, 2017. Office of the Press Secretary, "Fact Sheet: The Economic Challenge Posed by Declining Pollinator Populations," The President Barack Obama White House Archives, June 20, 2014. Ron Smith, "Bee colony losses down in 2016 for U.S. beekeepers," Southwest Farm Press, May 25, 2017. Kelsey Kopec & Lori Ann Burd, "Pollinators in peril: A systematic status review of North American and Hawaiian native bees," Center for Biological Diversity, February 2017.

Sign the petition: No mass spraying of toxic, bee-killing pesticides

Sign the petition to the Environmental Protection Agency: "Numerous studies, including research conducted by your own agency, show that the neonicotinoid pesticide thiamethoxam poses a significant risk to pollinators, including fragile bee populations. Deny Syngenta's application to expand its use of this toxic pesticide." Add your name:

There is a massive new threat to fragile bee populations, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the power to stop it. Syngenta, the Swiss-based agro-chemical rival to Monsanto, is seeking government approval to spray its bee-killing pesticide thiamethoxam on more than 165 million acres of American crop land.1 If the Scott Pruitt-led EPA under Donald Trump’s regime approves the company's application to apply massive amounts of this toxic pesticide on popular crops like wheat, barley, rice, alfalfa and potato, we could see even more dramatic and rapid declines of bee colonies. We must urge the EPA to deny Syngenta's application immediately. Tell the EPA: No mass spraying of toxic, bee-killing pesticides. Click here to sign the petition. In recent years, bee populations have plummeted significantly due in large part to the expanded use of bee-killing pesticides. More than 700 North American bee species are at risk for extinction, and in 2016-2017 alone, beekeepers lost 33 percent of their bees, yet the EPA has failed to take significant steps to limit pesticide use.2,3 In fact, just before Donald Trump took office, the EPA publicly acknowledged that neonic pesticides pose a significant risk to honeybees but backed away from a proposed rule to limit their use.4 Incredibly, this proposal by Syngenta to significantly ramp up its use of this toxic chemical on crop land fell on the very same day the EPA released a stunning new report detailing the dangers neonicotinoids such as thiamethoxam pose to animal life, including birds of all sizes.5 This most recent EPA study comes on the heels of numerous studies detailing the risks neonics also pose to invertebrate aquatic life. As Lori Ann Burd, director of the Center for Biological Diversity's environmental health program, put it: "If the EPA grants Syngenta's wish, it will spur catastrophic declines of aquatic invertebrates and pollinator populations that are already in serious trouble."6 Activism to protect bee populations works. Hundreds of thousands of CREDO members have mobilized in recent years to pressure the EPA to restrict expansion of Monsanto's bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides. But with Trump occupying the White House and Pruitt leading the EPA, we need to double down our efforts to keep these toxic pesticides from dramatically worsening the bee crisis. Tell the EPA: No mass spraying of toxic, bee-killing pesticides. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/epa_bees_2018?t=7&akid=26926%2E3130208%2Em15Ppq - Josh Nelson, CREDO Action #SAVETHEBEES Add your name: Grace Guarnieri, "EPA Might Let Bee-Killing Pesticide Be Sprayed On 165M Acres of Farmland," Newsweek, Dec. 21, 2017. Justin Worland, "More than 700 North American Bee Species Are Headed Toward Extinction," TIME, March 2, 2017. University of Maryland, "American beekeepers lost 33 percent of bees in 2016-17," May 25, 2017. Center for Biological Diversity, "Same Day: EPA Acknowledges Proven Dangers of Bee-killing Pesticides But Refuses to Restrict Them," Jan. 12, 2017. Center for Biological Diversity, "EPA Considers Allowing Bee-Killing Pesticide to Be Sprayed on 165 Million Acres of U.S. Farmland," Dec. 19. 2017. Ibid.

Tell your senators to oppose any legislative attempt to weaken ESA protections for species affected by pesticides

The pesticide industry is pushing a bill that threatens the survival of endangered species. The pesticide industry is pushing secret legislation on Capitol Hill that would dismantle Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections against deadly pesticides. A version of this hidden bill was obtained by the Center for Food Security. Toxic pesticides are one of the primary risks to endangered species. They threaten thousands of species, from California condors to Florida panthers, Sandhill Cranes to Atlantic salmon. Under current law, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is legally required to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service to minimize harm to endangered species from EPA-approved pesticides. That requirement is effective. For example, in a case brought by CFS attorneys a federal court held that the approvals of 59 bee killing “neonic” pesticides were illegal because the EPA failed to comply with the ESA. But the new legislation promoted by the pesticide industry would erase this critical requirement. And the deadly harm of toxic pesticides to endangered species would only be assessed upon request by pesticide manufacturers – who obviously have zero incentive to put their own products under scrutiny. The proposal would also limit enforcement actions designed to prevent pesticides from killing or harming endangered wildlife. Tell your members of Congress to oppose any legislative attempt to weaken ESA protections for species affected by pesticides >> Why would Congress make this dangerous change to the law? In April, DowDupont (formerly Dow Chemical) asked EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to stop all efforts to fully assess the impacts of chlorpyrifos, malathion, and diazinon, which have been shown to harm virtually all of America’s approximately 1,800 protected species. AndPruitt has apparently capitulated - the federal government’s efforts to protect endangered species from those three chemicals has been completely stalled. Shortly after becoming EPA Administrator, Pruitt reversed a research-based decision by the agency’s scientists to ban use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos — which is linked to learning disabilities in children — on food crops, including apples and oranges. Pruitt approved chlorpyrifos use even though the EPA’s own research shows residues of the chemical on produce in amounts exponentially above levels the agency has determined to be safe. If Pruitt won’t protect our children and farmworkers from the overuse of highly poisonous insecticides, then he certainly can’t be trusted to protect our endangered species from them. Beautiful species like Palos Verde Blue butterflies, rusty patched bumble bees, and even our majestic whooping cranes may all disappear if we are forced to trust Mr. Pruitt – but this bill removes all the checks on him. In short, this new legislation would eviscerate meaningful protections for fish, wildlife, and plants under the Endangered Species Act. Tell your Senators and Representative to oppose any legislative attempt to weaken ESA protections for species affected by pesticides >> - The Center for Food Safety 1. https://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/pesticideesadraftlegislation_58487.pdf

Tell EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to save bees by imposing a moratorium on bee-killing neonic pesticides.

 What's scarier than ghosts, witches, zombies, and vampires? A world without bees.

America's bees are dying at alarming rates, struggling to survive a deluge of toxic pesticides known as "neonics". Yet the EPA continues to allow neonic products to enter the market, without considering the impact they have on endangered bees, butterflies, birds, and other wildlife.

So earlier this month, NRDC sued the EPA.

But as they fight in court, we must also mobilize a massive public outcry to show EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt that we're watching what he does next — and demand that he crack down on these dangerous chemicals.

Tell EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to save bees by imposing a moratorium on bee-killing neonic pesticides.

An astonishing 33 percent of honeybee colonies collapsed between April 2016 and March 2017, in large part due to the skyrocketing use of neonics.

Why is that scary? We depend on bees to pollinate many of our leading crops — from apples and blueberries to watermelon and zucchini. In fact, one in every three bites of food we take depends on bees.

What's worse, President Trump has proposed slashing the EPA's budget by 31 percent, which will make it nearly impossible for the agency to crack down on neonics. And at the same time, agrochemical giants Monsanto and Bayer are pursuing a merger into the world's biggest seller of these bee-killing pesticides.

We must do everything we can to keep the momentum going and stop the alarming decline of bees, before it's too late.

So, please send a message to EPA Administrator Pruitt now, urging him to save bees and our food supply from toxic pesticides.

Despite Trump's and Pruitt's anti-environment assaults, we've made some important progress lately in our fight for bee survival. Under pressure from another NRDC lawsuit, the Trump administration restored endangered species protections to the rusty patched bumble bee. And major retailers like Home Depot and Lowe's have committed to phasing out neonic products and/or neonic-treated plants from their stores.

Now, it's the EPA's turn to take action.

So, while our lawyers pursue their lawsuit to save endangered bees and other pollinators, we must also ratchet up public pressure on the EPA to save all bees.

Please make your voice heard immediately in defense of bees.

- Sylvia Fallon, Wildlife Conservation Project Director, NRDC