Deadly pesticide-coated seeds have taken over our farms, killing pollinators, birds, and even endangered species. As they’re planted, clouds of neonicotinoid-laced dust cause mass die-offs of bee populations. Because of a loophole that allows pesticide giants like Monsanto to sell these GMO seeds with almost no regulation, almost half of all U.S. farmland is now planted with this silent killer! For five years, Center for Food Safety has been fighting to force the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to finally regulate this poison. Our legal action got them to admit ‘grave harm’ to hundreds of endangered species from the pesticides that coat GMO seeds, but EPA’s still refusing to regulate their use. That’s why we’re announcing that we’re taking them to court to finally close the loophole that ushered in this era of destruction from pesticide-coated seeds.
Pesticide-coated seeds contain neonicotinoid pesticides, but the EPA has never regulated them as pesticides under federal law. Pesticide companies searching for profit have taken full advantage of this massive loophole: 95% of corn seeds in the U.S. now come coated with neonics! It’s hard to exaggerate the deadly impact these seeds have had on our planet. Neonicotinoids travel up a plant's circulatory system as it grows, into the leaves, pollen, and nectar. Then pollinators ingest the poison, impacting their central nervous systems and causing paralysis or even death. Birds also eat these poison seeds: Just one tiny grain of neonic-coated wheat or canola can fatally poison a bird. And that’s not even all of it –the majority of the pesticide coating also comes off the seed after planting, contaminating our soil, wildflowers, and water! That’s why in 2017, CFS filed a groundbreaking legal action demanding that the EPA evaluate and regulate coated seeds as they would any other pesticide. The legal petition was both a blueprint on how to do this AND the legal reasons why it was required. When the EPA refused to respond, we filed a lawsuit giving the Biden administration the choice between voluntarily closing this massive loophole, or facing the consequences in court. This year, EPA opted not to take action to close the loophole. So now it’s time they face the consequences in court.
Please contact the Center for Food Safety if you would like to support this action!!
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