The cost of greed

Because of the flagrant use of the chemical Roundup, monarch butterflies no longer have the milkweed to lay their eggs on. The scientific evidence against the use of the chemical glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) is accurate enough to take the stuff off the market, and yet it remains on our hardware shelves.

Glyphosate has been linked to cancer in humans, and it is now causing serious issues with the survival of our monarch butterflies, one of the chief factors in their precipitous decline in the West.

Friends of the Earth just posted this news piece on their website:

“Monarch butterflies have declined by 99 percent in the West — largely thanks to Bayer-Monsanto’s Roundup®. But Roundup®’s impacts go far beyond pollinators — this pesticide has been linked to cancer.

“And now Roundup® is causing big problems for Bayer-Monsanto. Thousands of people with cancer are suing the pesticide giant alleging exposure to Roundup® caused their cancer. In every case that has been decided so far, judges have ruled in favor of the cancer patients.

“With more lawsuits in the pipeline, the company is facing increasing scrutiny from its shareholders and the public. In response, it’s trying to settle these cases out of court for billions of dollars. It’s trying to keep Roundup® out of the public spotlight and on store shelves — and keep pretending that its safe.”

My wife, Sue, and I have been conducting butterfly surveys at Lava Beds National Monument ever since our three kids were toddlers, anda during that time she tagged hundreds of the butterflies to study their migration patterns. Capturing and tagging monarchs was part of our kid’s summer for over 20 years.

Last year we did not see one monarch while conducting our summer inventory in the monument.

Migrating monarchs, coming north from their winter sanctuary on the California coast could not find any milkweed to lay their eggs on when they arrived in Central California. Why? Because what milkweed hadn’t been destroyed by Roundup-wielding farmers, was dead by lack of irrigation. The Friends of the Earth news goes on:

Monarch butterfly

“At the same time, World Health Organization and the state of California have determined that glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup®, is linked to cancer. Now, with more than 40,000 people suing Bayer-Monsanto over its link to their Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, the company can’t keep hiding from the truth.”

Enough is enough. With pressure mounting from consumers, scientists, and investors, now is the time for Bayer-Monsanto to cut this toxic chemical out of its portfolio. You and I, as nature enthusiasts, need to send a loud, clear, resounding message to Bayer-Monsanto and our local hardware stores: Go to Bayer AG on Google and tell ’em what trouble they’re in…

Please, stop poisoning people and pollinators now!