Help save the bees: Tell Congress to pass the Saving America's Pollinators Act!

Bees are dying! In just two decades, U.S. agriculture has become 48 times more toxic to bees and other insects. Meanwhile, Congress is allowing companies like Bayer-Monsanto and Syngenta to poison our food and wipe out our bees.

The good news: Congress could pass the Saving America’s Pollinators Act to ban neonics and save the bees. Now, we need concerned constituents like you to demand your Representative to support this bill!

Dear Representative,

Bee and other pollinator populations are declining at alarming rates. As a concerned constituent, I urge you to co-sponsor the Saving America’s Pollinators Act of 2019, introduced by Representative Blumenauer, to help protect pollinators, our environment and our food supply. This bill would prohibit the use of neonicotinoids and other systemic insecticides that are driving pollinator decline. It would also establish an independent pollinator protection board to annually assess the health and status of pollinator populations.

A new peer-reviewed study shows how hazardous neonicotinoids have made our agricultural lands for bees and other insects. For the first time, it allows us to compare changes in the toxic burden of U.S. agriculture from year to year. It found that since neonicotinoids were introduced in the 1990s, U.S. agriculture has become 48 times more toxic to insect life, and that neonicotinoids account for 92 percent of that increase in toxicity.

This study comes on the heels of the first global meta-analysis of insect decline. The analysis found that over 40 percent of insect species face extinction in coming decades, leading the authors to warn of “catastrophic ecosystem collapse” if we don’t change the way we farm. Insect populations are going extinct at a rate eight times faster than other animals. In addition, a recent global scientific assessment warns that the ecological crisis of biodiversity loss is on par with the climate crisis.

It is imperative that we act to preserve pollinators and their habitats. Insects make up the basis of the food webs that sustain life on Earth and play a critical role in the agricultural production of crops that feed us all. Pollinators like bees are responsible for 1 in 3 bites of food we eat. Without them, we would face shortages of some of our most nutritious foods, including nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy and more. Pollinators contribute as much as $577 billion in global food production and nearly $24 billion in the U.S. alone.

In recent years, beekeepers have lost an average of 40 percent of their hives, with some beekeepers reporting a complete loss of their operations. Native bees are dying at alarming rates, too. In March 2017, the rusty patched bumble bee was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act after having declined 87 percent in recent years. Monarch butterfly populations have also declined precipitously in the past twenty years. In California, nearly 90 percent of the population has been lost. 
 
Neonicotinoids are now the most widely used insecticides in the world -- they are used on over 140 crops. A large and growing number of studies point to neonicotinoids as a leading factor of bee declines. Acute exposure to these pesticides can directly kill bees while sublethal exposures can make them more vulnerable to pests, pathogens and other stressors and impair their foraging and feeding abilities, reproduction and memory.

Recent science also shows that neonicotinoids cause harm to aquatic species. In January 2017, the EPA released its aquatic and non-pollinator risk assessment of neonicotinoids, which found that most usage on currently registered crops is toxic to freshwater invertebrates and that levels of contamination in waterways exceed levels of concern. Further, the EPA released a preliminary assessment of on-field exposures to the neonicotinoid pesticide thiamethoxam, which found that all uses of the pesticide -- foliar, soil and seed applications -- resulted in exposures that surpassed the level of concern for acute and chronic risk to adult bees.

Another study found neonicotinoids in approximately three-quarters of samples from 10 major Great Lakes tributaries and suggests that the Great Lakes’ fish, birds, and entire ecosystem might be at risk. Recently, the U.S. Geological Survey found neonicotinoid pesticides in tap water. Research shows that the byproducts and metabolites of neonics in drinking water may be more toxic than the original compounds. In addition to our tap water, studies find residues of these pesticides on our food. Neonicotinoids have been linked to endocrine disruption and may affect the developing fetus and child, possibly leading to changes in behavior and attention, including an association with autism spectrum disorder.

There are other solutions to controlling pests on agricultural fields, those that would not jeopardize our ecosystems, food system and public health.

The European Union has taken decisive action based on the scientific evidence, banning the worst neonicotinoids for all outdoor uses in 2018. In the United States, states are taking leadership in the absence of federal action. Maryland, Connecticut and Minnesota have all placed restrictions on neonicotinoid use. In addition to these states, more than 100 municipalities and universities in the U.S. have restricted use of neonicotinoids. Further, more than 140 retailers including the two largest home improvement retailers in the world, Home Depot and Lowe’s, as well as Walmart, True Value, Kroger, Ace Hardware, Costco, Whole Foods and BJ’s Wholesale Club have committed to eliminate neonicotinoids on garden plants and/or home and garden products.

It is vitally important that you cosponsor the Saving America’s Pollinator Act of 2019 and advocate for its passage this year. The reasonable steps in this bill will help protect the health of people, pollinators, and the planet.

Sincerely,
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