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We all know that Monsanto's genetically engineered crops and the pesticides they promote can wreak havoc on our farms, food, and environment. But did you know they are also playing a big role in the quickly disappearing Monarchs?
Monarch butterflies are one of the most beautiful and iconic insects in the world, and they are in serious trouble. The Monarch butterfly population in North America has been shrinking at an alarming rate. Why? In part because a significant portion of their breeding habitat is being destroyed by herbicides like Monsanto's Roundup used on genetically engineered (GE) crops.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture and President Obama must stop the approval of Monsanto's pesticide-promoting Roundup Ready crops!
Roundup doesn't kill Monarchs directly, but rather kills their primary food source. Milkweeds are critical to the Monarch's survival because they are the only plants Monarch larvae will eat. But the most important milkweed for Monarchs is being demolished largely by the increasingly rampant use of glyphosate used in conjunction with Monsanto's Roundup Ready crops (glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide). Fewer milkweeds means fewer Monarchs.
So we are faced with a historic choice: Do we want Monsanto or Monarchs? It is becoming increasingly clear that we cannot have both. To protect Monarchs we must protect and reclaim their critical habitat, and reject Monsanto's Roundup Ready GE crops, and the unsustainable, pesticide-intensive, industrial agriculture system promoted by them.
Tell the EPA, USDA and President Obama to protect Monarch butterflies and stop approving pesticide-promoting genetically engineered crops!
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More information:
1. Robbins, J. (2013, November 22). The Year the Monarch Didn't Appear. The New York Times.
2. Center for Food Safety, Monarchs & Pesticides; Monarch Decline & GE Crops
3. Center for Food Safety, Monarch Breeding & Glyphosate Use Maps
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