Fwd: Monsanto vs. monarch butterflies (and Monsanto is winning)

-----Original Message-----
From: Kevin Curtis, SaveOurEnvironment.org <info@saveourenvironment.org>
To: prosbird <prosbird@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, Jul 17, 2014 9:17 am
Subject: Monsanto vs. monarch butterflies (and Monsanto is winning)

Monarch butterflies are in crisis – help protect them by urging the USDA and the EPA to restrict potent weed killers like Monsanto's Roundup!

Got Milkweed? Probably not... Weed killers like Monsanto's Roundup herbicide is killing the majestic monarch butterflies by wiping out up to 80% of the milkweed in the Midwest. Now these precious pollinators are in crisis! Monarch in flight by Dwight Sipler via Flickr Ask the USDA and EPA to revisit the safety of GMO crops and the herbicides that accompany them before more damage is done. Supporter – Monarch butterflies need milkweed. It is the only plant they can lay their eggs on and that the caterpillars can eat. But the combination of genetically engineered corn and soy and weed killers like Monsanto's Roundup herbicide has wiped out nearly all the milkweed that used to grow along the monarchs' migratory routes, leaving the butterflies nowhere to lay their eggs Now monarch butterflies are in crisis and unless we act quickly, they may disappear. Soon! Tell the USDA and the EPA to to adopt tough restrictions on pesticide-resistant crops and the toxic herbicides responsible for the rapid disappearance of monarchs. Every fall, for the last umpteen thousand years, hundreds of millions of beautiful orange and black monarch butterflies have taken to the skies, flying more than 2,500 miles across Canada and the U.S. to reach their winter home in the thick forests of tall oyamel fir trees that grow in Mexico's Sierra Madre mountains. This winter, only 33.5 million butterflies made it to Mexico – the lowest level ever reported. Like honey bees and other pollinators, monarch butterflies are now in crisis, with populations plummeting dramatically since the introduction of herbicide-ready corn and soybean crops in 1997. The huge increase in the usage of GMO crops and the toxic herbicides like Monsanto's Roundup that accompany them is a major culprit for the monarch's disappearance, along with rapid deforestation in Mexico and extreme weather caused by climate chaos. The world needs monarch butterflies. But they can't survive without milkweed. And milkweed can't survive weed killing chemicals... Please join us and our coalition partners, NRDC and Friends of the Earth, in speaking out to try to save monarchs. Ask the EPA and the USDA to revisit the safety of toxic herbicides and to stop approving more of these dangerous chemicals. Monarchs and bees are crucial members of our ecosystem. If we do not stand up now to demand that their continued existence take priority over profit margins, they will go away. Forever. Please don't wait – send your message now. Thank you again for speaking up to protect these beautiful creatures and for all you do. Best, Kevin Curtis Director, SaveOurEnvironment.org info@saveourenvironment.org

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