The EPA has allowed millions of pounds of coated seeds to be planted annually on more than 150 million acres nationwide. The lawsuit alleges the agency has illegally allowed this to occur, without requiring the coated seeds to be registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), without enforceable labels on the seed bags and without adequate assessments of the serious ongoing environmental harm.
The plaintiffs in the case are beekeepers Jeff Anderson, Bret Adee, David Hackenberg, and the Pollinator Stewardship Council; farmers Lucas Criswell and Gail Fuller; and public interest and conservation groups American Bird Conservancy, Center for Food Safety and Pesticide Action Network of North America.
“EPA’s actions surrounding neonicotinoid seed coatings have led to intensifying and destructive consequences. These include acute honeybee kills, as well as chronic effects to numerous species, nationwide water and soil contamination, and other environmental and economic harms,” says Peter Jenkins, attorney with Center for Food Safety. “This lawsuit aims to hold EPA accountable to dramatically reduce this harm in the future.”
Neonicotinoids are a class of insecticides known to have acute and chronic effects on honeybees and other pollinator species, and are considered a major factor in overall bee population declines and poor health. Up to 95 percent of the applied seed coating ends up in the surrounding air, soil and water, rather than in the crop for which it was intended, leading to extensive contamination.
“My honey farm business is not capable of surviving another three to five years if EPA chooses to ‘drag out’ the treated article exemption in the courts at the request of the pesticide industry instead of properly regulating these pesticides. People need pollinated food; somebody must stand up and say no to unregulated killing of pollinators,” says Jeff Anderson, beekeeper and the lead plaintiff in the case.
The cost-effectiveness of neonicotinoid seed coatings has been challenged in recent years, with numerous studies indicating that their near ubiquitous use is unnecessary – and making EPA’s disregard of their risks all the more harmful. Along with honeybees, wild bees and other beneficial insects are in serious decline, leading to reduced yields. Overuse of the insecticides threatens sustainable agriculture going forward.
The EPA has also allowed several other similar systemic seed-coating insecticides onto the market and appears poised to approve additional coating products in the near future. FG
—From Center for Food Safety news release
