Clothianidin, a synthetic pesticide marketed by corporate chemical giant Bayer, has been banned in several European countries, including Bayer's home country of Germany, due to its toxic effects on honeybees.
Despite warnings from some of the EPA's own scientists that clothianidin poses a significant threat to bee populations in the United States, the agency continues to allow widespread use of the pesticide on commonly grown crops such as canola and corn.
Honeybees do far more than produce honey. A vital part of the world ecosystem, they currently pollinate over a third of the food crops grown in the United States, and as such are vital to the stability of U.S. food production. Many of America's favorite foods, such as almonds and watermelon, will become scarce if honeybee populations continue to decline.
Please sign this petition and urge the EPA to withdraw its approval of clothianidin as an agricultural pesticide.
Dear Administrator Jackson,
We the undersigned ask that you please heed the warnings of beekeepers, farmers, and the EPA's own scientists, and withdraw registration for Bayer's neonicotinoid insecticide, clothianidin, which several scientific studies have shown is toxic to honeybees.
Honeybee populations are in severe decline across America due to honeybee colony collapse disorder, which has beekeepers and the farmers who produce much of America's food searching for solutions. Honeybees play a key part in the production of roughly a third of food crops in the United States, and a threat to these vital pollinators is a threat to the stability of the U.S. food supply.
Though scientists have yet to reach a consensus regarding the ultimate cause of colony collapse disorder, it is clear that bee populations are under stress from multiple causes related to human activity, including the widespread agricultural use of pesticides that are toxic to bees.
We in the United States need the help of honeybees to continue producing abundant food for our people. In turn, honeybees need our protection and support to survive. Please stop the widespread use of clothianidin in the United States.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
