Tell your Representative to save bees from toxic pesticides!

Beekeepers lost nearly half of their hives last year -- jeopardizing our whole food system. A key cause: the overuse of bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides.

In the face of the EPA's inaction Congress must act and pass the Saving America’s Pollinators Act (SAPA) and ban toxic bee-killing pesticides. But Congress won't act unless it hears from you.

Dear Representative {user_data~Rep Last Name},

Bees 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 systemic neonicotinoid insecticides that threaten pollinators. It would also establish an independent pollinator protection board to produce annual reports on the health and status of pollinator populations.

The science is clear that neonicotinoids are a massive threat to pollinators and other beneficial insects.  Following the science on their harm to bees, the European Union has banned the three most common neonicotinoids and Canada has passed critical restrictions. It is time for the U.S. to follow the science and take action to protect pollinators.

Pollinators are essential to a diverse and abundant food supply. Bees and other pollinators are responsible for one in every three bites of food we eat. They contribute as much as $577 billion in global food production and nearly $24 billion in the U.S. alone. Without them, we would run short of many of our healthiest foods such as apples, almonds, and blueberries.

In recent years, beekeepers have lost an average of 40 percent of their hives with some beekeepers losing 100 percent 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. And over the last twenty years, monarch butterfly populations have declined by nearly 90 percent.

Neonicotinoids are widely used in agriculture as well as in gardens and landscapes. A large and growing number of studies have pinpointed neonicotinoids as a leading factor of bee declines. Acute exposure to these pesticides can directly kill bees and make them more vulnerable to pests, pathogens, and other stressors while impairing their foraging and feeding abilities, reproduction and memory. The harm caused by neonicotinoids is even more egregious given that multiple studies, including analysis from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, have found that their primary use as seed coatings on commodity crops like corn and soy provide little to no economic or yield benefit to farmers.

Research from the European Union shows that banning neonicotinoids has not harmed farmers and that it helps bee populations to recover. In 2008, Italy instituted a ban on the use of neonicotinoids as seed treatments for corn. In an evaluation five years later, researchers found a “clear and dramatic improvement” in the number of bees and colonies in the region.

A recent peer-reviewed study found that U.S. agriculture has become 48 times more toxic to insect life in the past two decades. Neonicotinoids account for 92 percent of this increase because they are considerably more toxic to insects and far more persistent in the environment than other commonly used insecticides.

Another recent ground-breaking study estimates that over 40 percent of insect species face extinction in the coming decades and that insects are declining at a rate of extinction eight times faster than other organisms.  This comprehensive global meta-analysis concluded that if no action is taken and current rates of insect decline continue, we could face “catastrophic ecosystem collapse” which will have a devastating impact on our food system. The authors of this study found that this rapid decline of insects is part of one of the largest extinction events in Earth’s history and is driven by intensive agriculture coupled with the overuse of synthetic pesticides like neonicotinoids. On the heels of this meta-analysis, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services published a report warning that the declining state of the world’s biodiversity threatens our food security, nutrition, health, livelihood, and environment.

In 2017, 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. However, the agency has taken no steps to restrict the use of these products.

Neonicotinoids also threaten aquatic organisms. In January 2017, the EPA released its aquatic and non-pollinator risk assessment of neonicotinoids, which found that most usages of neonicotinoids on currently registered crops are toxic to freshwater invertebrates and that levels in the environment exceed benchmarks of concern. Another study found neonicotinoids in approximately three-quarters of samples from 10 major Great Lakes tributaries, demonstrating the Great Lakes’ fish, birds, and the entire ecosystem might be at risk. Finally, a recent study out of Japan linked neonicotinoid contamination in waterways with fishery collapse. 
Research also shows that neonicotinoids can harm human health. Exposure to neonicotinoids has 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.

This is concerning because research shows that Americans are exposed to neonicotinoids in their food and water. The U.S. Geological Survey found neonicotinoid pesticides in tap water and determined that the byproducts formed by the chlorination process may be more toxic than the original compounds. In addition, studies find residues of these pesticides on our food. Neonicotinoids are among the most commonly detected pesticide residues in baby food.

While the European Union has taken action to protect pollinators by banning neonicotinoids, the U.S. government has not only failed to act, it has greenlighted additional use of neonicotinoids. In 2018, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service lifted a ban on the use of neonicotinoids in wildlife refuges. And this year, the EPA approved a four-year emergency exemption for use of the pesticide sulfoxaflor on 13.9 million acres of land across 11 southern states. This decision grossly misuses the emergency exception clause of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. Eight species of bumblebees and monarch butterfly migration routes overlap with this area, making it a critical habitat to protect from neonicotinoids.

In the face of federal inaction, Maryland, Connecticut and Minnesota have all placed restrictions on neonicotinoid use. In addition, 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 use of neonicotinoids on garden plants and/or products.

The Saving America’s Pollinator Act of 2019 is critically necessary to protect pollinators and other beneficial insects. There are other solutions to controlling pests on agricultural fields that do not jeopardize our ecosystems, food system, and public health.

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

Sincerely,
{user_data~First name} {user_data~Last name}
{user_data~City}, {user_data~State} {user_data~Postcode}

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