>> Tell state legislators to focus on ecosystem protection, not just individual pesticides!
Tell State Legislators To Focus on Ecosystem Protection, Not Just Individual Pesticides

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As the public looks for opportunities to advance policies and programs that protect health and the environment in the absence of federal programs, state legislatures such as Connecticut are considering bills similar to the New York Birds & Bees Protection Act, which zero in on individual pesticides in a strategy of “whac-a-mole.” While these efforts help to educate the public on the systemic hazards of pesticides—and show individual pesticides to be the poster children for failed regulation that is inadequately protective—they could offer an opportunity to go broader in forcing state regulatory restrictions of pesticides and facilitating the transition to regenerative organic practices that are healthy for ecosystems and people. 

>> Tell state legislators to focus on ecosystem protection, not just individual pesticides. 

Over the past several years, state legislatures have led the charge on public safety and neonicotinoid regulations. The State of New York adopted the Birds and Bees Protection Act in January 2024 to ban the use of neonicotinoid insecticides by 2029; Vermont followed suit with a nearly identical bill. New Jersey and Maine are additional East Coast states that have the strongest laws on the books to eliminate all outdoor (nonagricultural) uses of bee-toxic neonicotinoid insecticides. In addition, many local governments have adopted ordinances protecting pollinators within their jurisdictions and governing pesticide use in parks, public places, and both public and private property. As Connecticut considers similar legislation, Beyond Pesticides submitted comments to the legislature urging a “more robust response to an ecological crisis that is defined by a large body of peer-reviewed scientific findings.” The testimony states: “It is important that the proposed legislation prioritize ecological pest management practices, best defined in federal law as 'organic,' as the alternative that must be assessed as an alternative to the use of neonicotinoids and related compounds because of the numerous deficiencies in the evaluation of pesticides by EPA on which the State of Connecticut relies for determinations of safety... Continued dependence on pesticides, as the current bill language allows, fails to respond to the pesticide treadmill effect that elevates pest populations by depressing ecological balance while increasing pest resistance to pesticide applications and reducing plant resiliency to pest populations.” 

In addressing specific chemicals or classes of chemicals—such as neonicotinoids, glyphosate, and dicamba—legislators must point to many other reasons for addressing pesticides at a state and local level, beginning with the failure of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to carry out its mission to protect human health and the environment. In registering and reregistering pesticides, EPA routinely allows uses of chemicals that harm humans, other organisms, and ecosystems. According to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), whether those harms are “unreasonable” depends on a weighing of costs and benefits. EPA starts with the position that farmers cannot farm without these toxic chemicals, an assumption that clouds and undermines the regulatory process and keeps farmers on the pesticide treadmill. In its Draft Herbicide Strategy Framework update, EPA says, “Without certain pesticide products, farmers could have trouble growing crops that feed Americans and public health agencies could lack the tools needed to combat insect-borne diseases” Not true. Organic farmers are not reliant on these pesticides. Organic practices must be used as the yardstick against which so-called “benefits” of pesticides are measured. 

The only way to truly protect pollinators, insects, birds, and other species, as well as the ecosystem as a whole, is to stop the use of pesticides completely. Converting the world's agricultural systems to organic would have a tremendous positive impact on threatened populations. Organic farming enhances biodiversity in the ecosystem and mitigates environmental degradation and climate change, all of which is necessary for the recovery of threatened and endangered species. And we cannot afford to let anyone capitalize on marketing schemes making false claims of climate change mitigation. Regenerative agriculture must be organic.

Organic agriculture can mitigate climate change. Agriculture is a major contributor to climate change. In a recent article in Science, Clark et al. show that even if fossil fuel emissions were eliminated immediately, emissions from the global food system alone would make it impossible to limit warming to 1.5°C and difficult even to realize the 2°C target. According to the International Panel of Climate Change, agriculture and forestry account for as much as 25% of human-induced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The contribution of animal agriculture has been estimated at 14.5% to 87% or more of total GHG emissions. These estimates include emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ammonia. The carbon dioxide contribution largely comes from converting land from natural forest to pasture or cropland.  

“Regenerative” agriculture is widely considered to be a solution for reducing or even reversing these impacts. Unfortunately, a movement by promoters of chemical-intensive agriculture has fooled some environmentalists into supporting toxic “regenerative” agriculture. While recognizing practices that sequester carbon in the soil—practices that are central to organic agriculture—the so-called “regenerative agriculture” promoted by these groups ignores the direct climate impacts of nitrogen fertilizers, the damage to soil health caused by pesticides and chemical fertilizers, and the fact that pesticide and fertilizer manufacturing is dependent on fossil fuels—as key ingredients as well as for the heat and energy driving chemical reactions. It is important to see through this deception.  

Organic practices preserve natural lands and biodiversity. Natural forests are more effective than tree plantations in sequestering carbon. Preserving natural land increases biodiversity, which also reduces dependence on petroleum-based pesticides. Organic farms are required to “comprehensively conserve biodiversity by maintaining or improving all natural resources, including soil, water, wetlands, woodlands, and wildlife, as required by §205.200 of the regulations and per the §205.2 definition of Natural resources of the operation.”  

Organic agriculture benefits human health. By avoiding the use of antibiotics and toxic pesticides, organic agriculture protects farmworkers and consumers. In addition, studies have found organically grown plant foods and milk to be nutritionally superior to those produced by chemical-intensive agriculture.  

The National Organic Program provides for clarity and enforceability, while providing processes that are open and transparent to growers, consumers, and the public at large. As an established program, it also has its own funding mechanism. Any definition of “regenerative” must—at a minimum—meet organic standards.  

>> Tell state legislators to focus on ecosystem protection, not just individual pesticides. 

It is crucial, as we move forward with a plan to harness agriculture in the fight against climate change, biodiversity collapse, and health problems, that we not be misled into promoting the same practices that have created the problem. As aptly stated by Jeff Moyer of the Rodale Institute, "We believe that in order to be regenerative, you have to start by being organic. It's a little disingenuous to say you can regenerate soil health and sequester carbon and still use nitrogen fertilizers and synthetic pesticides. What you're really saying is equivalent to saying 'I want to be healthy as a person, but I still want to smoke cigarettes.'"  

The climate crisis and the devastating decline in biodiversity are escalating because of uncontrolled and unnecessary reliance on toxic chemicals. These threats to life require a meaningful holistic strategy to end our fossil fuel dependence and use of materials that release harmful levels of noxious gases (including greenhouse gases).   

Agriculture must—across the board and on an expedited five-year schedule—shift to organic practices. Organic practices both sequester carbon and eliminate petroleum-based pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. Importantly, the data show that organic agriculture now operates without sacrificing productivity or profitability. While the vested economic interests in the petroleum and chemical industry cling to the status quo, there are good jobs and money to be made in a green economy.  

We need a national plan to shift to 100% organic farming. Organic land management is more effective at reducing emissions and sequesters carbon in the soil. There is already a national program for certifying farms that meet organic standards. Organic operations must “comprehensively conserve biodiversity by maintaining or improving all natural resources, including soil, water, wetlands, woodlands, and wildlife.”   

Undefined “regenerative” agriculture falls short by ignoring the direct climate impacts of nitrogen fertilizers, the damage to soil health and ecosystem services caused by pesticides and chemical fertilizers, and the fact that pesticide and fertilizer manufacturing is dependent on fossil fuels—as key ingredients and for the heat and energy-driving chemical reactions.    

We need a national land management plan.  Preserving natural land increases biodiversity, reducing dependence on petroleum-based pesticides, and is more effective in sequestering carbon. Biodiversity buffers against damage from climate change by allowing systems to evolve with changing conditions. Preserving natural lands and transitioning farms to organic production should be the cornerstones to combating climate change.   

While all these changes are needed at a national—indeed, international—level, the current political climate makes it unlikely that these changes will be adopted by Congress and federal agencies. It is therefore crucial for state and local legislatures to step into the vacuum they have created. States can be a proving ground for changes that are urgently needed. In advancing legislation to eliminate individual bad-actor chemicals that have caught public attention, the language can include (or amendments can be attached) that: 

1. Defines “delineated allowable substances” as a part of the state pesticide registration process.” as a part of the state pesticide registration process. These allowed substances may include:   

(a) Natural, organic or “non-synthetic.” A substance that is derived from mineral, plant, or animal matter and does not undergo a “synthetic” process as defined in the Organic Foods Production Act, 7 U.S.C. § 6502(21), as the same may be amended from time to time.  

(b) Pesticides determined to be “minimum risk pesticides” pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and listed in 40 C.F.R. § 152.25(f)(1) or (2), as may be amended from time to time. 

2. Eliminates chemical fertilizers that adversely affect soil health and the natural cycling of nutrients necessary for plant resiliency, thus decreasing vulnerability to plant diseases, infestation, and drought conditions; 

3. Establishes clear and enforceable definitions; 

4. Requires a systems plan (establishes baseline for management practices intended to create resiliency and prevent pests); 

5. Creates a rigorous standard for allowed/prohibited substances list with a mechanism for incorporating real-time data on hazards and alternatives into reevaluation of allowed list, which should follow the process laid out in the Organic Foods Production Act

6. Incorporates a certification and enforcement system (third party enforcement); 

7. Maintains a process for public participation to ensure a feedback loop for continuous improvement; and 

8. Allocates adequate funding to ensure elements are carried out in a robust way. 

>> Tell state legislators to focus on ecosystem protection, not just individual pesticides. 

The targets for this Action are the U.S. state governors and state legislatures.

Thank you for your active participation! The Action is a multi-step process, so please click submit below to proceed to step two, where you will be able to personalize comments before final submission. The comment maximum limit is 4,000 characters, so it may be necessary to delete some of our prepared message text if editing. 

↪️ For more information, please stay tuned for the upcoming Daily News post on February 24, 2025.

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Why we TAKE ACTION:

During these times, Beyond Pesticides urges sending a message even to those who refuse to listen. As we strive to adopt the changes essential for a livable future, we must create a record that is based on science, even when the science and the facts are dismissed by those in power. To this end, the failure of action to address the existential health, biodiversity, and climate crises by those in Congress and the administration empower lower levels of government and some corporations to step into the void left by those whose actions or inaction threaten life. Please feel free to reach out to the Beyond Pesticides team with feedback.