Environmental Action supporters know that everything in nature is connected. Neonicotinoid-coated seeds are the proof:
A songbird swoops down to grab a kernel of corn spilled on a field during planting. If it's coated in neonics, that single kernel is toxic enough to kill that bird.
A bee buzzes through the neonic-contaminated dust kicked up when tractors and planters churned the seeds into the field's soil. That dust is toxic enough to kill the bee.
The dust settles on a plant where a bee is foraging for pollen. More dust lands on a hive where another bee is feeding and nurturing its young. On that plant and in that hive, the toxic dust can be lethal to those bees.
Rain comes, washing the neonic dust in the air and soil into puddles, streams and groundwater. A bee gathers water from a puddle, some to drink and some to bring back to the hive.
In the summer, it may even coat its young in cooling water. The water, tainted by neonics, poisons the bee and its young.
By the way, what doesn't kill the bees and birds does not make them stronger.
Non-lethal doses of neonic pesticides weaken the immune system, disrupt the ability to navigate, and impede fertility. Higher doses can cause a bee to shake uncontrollably before it is paralyzed.
Nobody intends all of this to happen -- including Nutrien Ag Solutions.
But the widespread use of neonic pesticides -- estimated to cover 150 million acres of #cropland across the U.S. -- is having deadly consequences and it must be stopped.
With a single action, Nutrien Ag Solutions can help stem the alarming declines in bee and bird populations. Tell the company to stop selling neonic-coated seeds.
Add comment