ACTION ALERT
America’s fields of waving, genetically engineered grain may make for good song lyrics. But according to a new study, they’re also poisoning waterways.
Researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey found neonicotinoids, linked to the die-off of honeybees, in all of the nine rivers and streams they tested in the Midwest. Rivers like the Mississippi and Missouri, which run near the vast fields of (mostly GMO) corn and soybean fields.
One systemic neonic pesticide, clothianidin, was found in 75 percent of the water samples.
According to the report:
We noticed higher levels of these insecticides after rain storms during crop planting, which is similar to the spring flushing of herbicides that has been documented in Midwestern U.S. rivers and streams. In fact, the insecticides also were detected prior to their first use during the growing season, which indicates that they can persist from applications in prior years.
Meanwhile, the bees and birds die and the rivers and streams collect poisons. And as Tom Philpott writes in a recent analysis of neonics, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dithers.
EPA Dithers While a Popular Pesticide Threatens Ecosystems
Notorious ‘Neonics’ Pervasive in Midwest Waters
TAKE ACTION: Tell Michelle Obama: Help Pass the Saving America’s Pollinators Act!