Stop the looming ecological collapse

Article Contributed by Friends of the Earth | Published on Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Yesterday, the UN released a report saying the world faces ecological collapse unless we take urgent action to change our social and economic systems to protect the environment.

The devastating report shows how the massive global decline of bees and other insects, along with other critical species, is setting us on a path to catastrophe. And this decline is largely thanks to industrial agriculture and the use of toxic pesticides.

But instead of shifting our economy and environmental policy to address this looming crisis, Donald Trump is continuing to hand over our planet to Big Ag. Right now his EPA is considering greenlighting the continued use of glyphosate -- a.k.a. Monsanto’s Roundup®. We need your help to stop it!

Tell the EPA: Stop the looming ecological collapse -- ban Monsanto’s Roundup®!

Roundup® is linked to the decline of the iconic monarch butterfly. The pesticide wipes out milkweed, the only food young monarchs eat. It’s a simple formula, more Roundup® = less milkweed = fewer monarchs.

The numbers are staggering. Monarch populations have declined nearly 70 percent in the past two decades. This corresponds with the massive increase in the use of Roundup®.

Monarchs and other pollinators are the canaries in the corn fields. Entire ecosystems rely on insects. If pesticides wipe out those insects, the impacts could be devastating – for butterflies, but also for our food system and communities who depend on healthy ecosystems around the world.

The only way to stop this catastrophic collapse is to get pesticides like Roundup® out of our food system and shift to organic, regenerative farming. The Trump administration is threatening to move us in the opposite direction. We need your help to stop it.

Take action now: Tell the EPA to get toxic pesticides like Roundup® out of our food system!

The UN report calls for urgent regulatory change and makes a compelling case for “transformational change.” That means we need to address our global economic, financial and social systems. We can no longer afford to tackle the crises of climate, biodiversity and economic inequality separately – we must address them together.

Getting Roundup® out of our food system is one important step toward doing that. The pesticide makes millions in profits for Monsanto -- which it can pour back into our political system to avoid further regulation. Additionally, the impacts of our industrial agriculture system are greatest on rural communities and farmworkers who are highly exposed to Roundup and other toxic pesticides.

In other words, one simple action -- banning Roundup® -- could have a huge impact on communities around the country. At the same time, it would stem the decline of monarch butterflies and other essential pollinators. And it would put power back in the hands of people like you and me, not Big Ag companies like Monsanto.

The EPA is required to consider the opinion of people like you as it weighs whether to restrict Roundup®. So we need you to speak up now.

Help send 30,000 comments to the EPA: Protect monarch butterflies and communities across the country by banning Roundup®!

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