U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Protect the threatened monarch butterfly

Dear MoveOn member,

We're the Center for Food Safety, and we started a petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which says:

The monarch butterfly population in North America has been shrinking at an alarming rate, largely because a significant portion of their breeding habitat is being destroyed by herbicides used on genetically engineered (GE) crops.

Milkweeds are critical to the monarch's survival because they are the only plants monarch larvae will eat, but they are being decimated by the rampant use of Roundup (glyphosate) in conjunction with Monsanto's Roundup Ready GE crops. ¹

Monarchs need urgent, comprehensive protection—the kind of protection only a listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) can provide. I urge you to grant Center for Food Safety's joint petition to list the monarch butterfly as threatened under the ESA.²

Monarch butterflies are one of the most beautiful and iconic insects in the world, and they are in serious trouble. The monarch butterfly population in North America has been shrinking at an alarming rate. Why? A major culprit is the use of herbicides like Monsanto's Roundup on genetically engineered (GE) crops, which is destroying a significant portion of their breeding habitat. 

That's why Center for Food Safety and Center for Biological Diversity have just co-filed a groundbreaking legal action—joined by Xerces Society and renowned monarch scientist professor Lincoln Brower—to list the monarch butterfly as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). If it is listed, the U.S. government would be required to take urgent and significant action to protect monarchs from further declines. ³

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Protect the threatened monarch butterfly.

We all know that Monsanto's genetically engineered crops and the pesticides they promote can wreak havoc on our farms, food, and environment. But what many people may not know is that they are also playing a big role in the rapid disappearance of monarchs. 

Herbicides like Roundup don't kill monarchs directly but rather kill their primary food source and habitat. Milkweeds are critical to the monarch's survival because they are the only plants monarch caterpillars will eat. But thanks to the rampant use of Roundup on Monsanto's genetically engineered crops, milkweed plants in the heart of the monarch's range have been demolished. Fewer milkweeds mean fewer monarchs.  

So we are faced with a historic choice: Do we want Monsanto or monarchs? It is becoming increasingly clear that we cannot have both. To protect monarchs we must protect and reclaim their critical habitat, and reject Monsanto's Roundup Ready GE crops and the unsustainable, pesticide-intensive, industrial agriculture system promoted by them. 

Join the Center for Food Safety in urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect monarch butterflies! 

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

–Center for Food Safety

Sources:

1. "Monarch Decline and GE Crops," Center for Food Safety, September 3, 2014 
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=300607&id=100782-10220574-0d1Fcex&t=2

2. "Monarch Breed and Glyphosate Use Maps," Center for Food Safety, September 3, 2014 
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=300608&id=100782-10220574-0d1Fcex&t=3

3. "CFS Seeks Legal Protection for Monarchs Under Endangered Species Act," Center for Food Safety, September 3, 2014 
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=300616&id=100782-10220574-0d1Fcex&t=4

This petition was created on MoveOn's online petition site, where anyone can start their own online petitions. Center for Food Safety didn't pay us to send this email—we never rent or sell the MoveOn.org list.

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