Since 2018, thirteen major U.S. food retailers representing over $1.4 billion in annual food and beverage sales have established policies aimed at reducing toxic pesticides in their supply chains, signaling a significant shift taking place across the food retail sector. Kroger’s commitment follows in the footsteps of Whole Foods (NASDAQ: AMZN), which announced a pesticide policy in December, 2023, as well as Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Giant Eagle. 

These industry efforts follow a multi-year campaign led by Friends of the Earth and supported by over 100 environmental, public health, farmer, and farmworker organizations across the country. Friends of the Earth’s Bee-Friendly Retailer Scorecard tracks company progress.

“We now understand that biodiversity collapse is as pressing a threat to planetary health and our food supply as climate change. And the over 1 billion pounds of pesticides used annually in U.S. agriculture are drivers of both,” said Kendra Klein, PhD, deputy director of science at Friends of the Earth. “It’s past time for U.S. food retailers to take swift action to eliminate the use of toxic pesticides in their supply chains and speed the transition to organic and other ecologically regenerative approaches to agriculture. Despite this promising industry trend, efforts fall far short of what is needed to protect pollinators, people, and the planet from toxic pesticides.”

Currently, Giant Eagle leads the pack. Its policy will eliminate the worst neonicotinoid pesticides in the company’s fresh produce supply by 2025. Research shows that U.S. agriculture has become 48 times more toxic to bees and other insects since the advent of neonicotinoid use three decades ago. The European Union has banned the worst neonicotinoids while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lags behind the science.

Neonicotinoids and all other major classes of pesticides also decimate soil life, according to a recent meta-review co-authored by Friends of the Earth, making the base of our food chain more brittle, and impeding the soil’s ability to sequester carbon – a critical climate change mitigation strategy. And the same pesticides that threaten biodiversity also harm human health, including the farmworkers and rural communities on the frontlines of exposure. 

Another key approach leading companies are taking to pesticide reduction is requiring Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices in their supply chains. Four companies – Giant Eagle, Kroger, Walmart, and Whole Foods – are requiring all fresh produce suppliers to adopt IPM and to verify their compliance using a list of third-party certifications vetted by the IPM Institute of North America.

IPM can reduce use of pesticides by guiding farmers to use non-chemical approaches to manage pests first, such as rotating crops, planting resistant varieties and fostering beneficial insects. 

Nine other companies — Albertsons (NYSE: ASI), Aldi, Costco (NASDAQ: COST), CVS (NYSE: CVS), Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR), Meijer, Rite Aid (OTCMKTS: RADCQ), Southeastern Grocers, and Target (NYSE: TGT) — have created policies that encourage food and beverage suppliers to reduce use of pesticides of concern — including neonicotinoids, organophosphates and glyphosate — and to shift to least-toxic approaches like IPM, but the policies do not include metrics or targets for implementation.

Leading companies are also committed to growing their organic offerings. Organic is the gold standard for pesticide reduction. The certification prohibits over 900 synthetic pesticides otherwise allowed in agriculture. A growing body of science also highlights organic farming’s ability to regenerate soil, conserve water, enhance farmers’ resilience to droughts and floods, protect biodiversity, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, making it a critical approach to addressing climate change.

Communications contact: Haven Bourque, 415-505-3473, haven@havenbmedia.com

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We have seen progress restricting neonics or passing consumer bans in states like Maryland, Connecticut, Minnesota, and Vermont. The state of New York took it a step further, introducing a bill to limit these toxic pesticides even further by restricting agricultural use — the most common application of neonics.

The Birds and Bees Protection Act proposed to eliminate 80-90% of the neonics entering New York’s environment yearly. This would be huge in New York — a state where local beekeepers have lost more than 40% of their bee colonies due to toxic neonics.

And while neonics have already been banned in the European Union for almost a decade, the Birds and Bees Protection Act was a first-of-its-kind in the US. 

Research by Cornell University found that neonics provide no economic benefits to users or can be replaced with safer, effective alternatives. And the EPA reported that the toxic pesticide has threatened the existence of over 200 species. That’s 11% of the entire endangered species list!

The evidence for why neonicotinoid pesticides should be banned was mounting. And thankfully, New York State legislators chose to side with science and pass the bill in both chambers. But unfortunately, rumors circulated that the state’s governor, Governor Kathy Hochul, may not be on board with the bill. Her signature was the final step in making the bill law. 

So we ramped up our advocacy for this important bill. Thousands of Friends of the Earth members in New York contacted Hochul, urging her to pass the bill. In November 2023, we gathered in New York City to call on the governor to be a climate leader and sign the bill into law. We also pointed out how neonics can be harmful to human health, especially pregnant women and babies. Studies show that neonics were associated with malformations of babies’ developing hearts and brains. And farmworkers are also vulnerable due to their constant exposure to the pesticide. 

With just a few days left in 2023, we received news that Governor Hochul signed the Birds and Bees Protection Act into law! Environmentalists, farmers, and health professionals all joined in a sigh of relief that the governor chose to listen to proven science, instead of the exploitative pesticide industry. The passage of this bill will set an example for other states to follow. And we hope to see the EPA, which has published its own research on the harms of neonics, ban the pesticide once and for all. Until then, we will continue to campaign to save the bees and others from deadly chemicals.

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Whole Foods has joined a growing trend in the grocery retail industry addressing threats to biodiversity by becoming the thirteenth company on Friends of the Earth’s Bee-Friendly Retailer Scorecard to establish a pollinator policy addressing toxic pesticides in its supply chain.

“Whole Foods’ policy is an important step in a moment when 40% of insect pollinators face extinction,” said Kendra Klein, PhD, senior staff scientist at Friends of the Earth. “After another year of devastating losses to bees, food retailers must accelerate their commitment to protect pollinators by setting measurable goals to eliminate bee-toxic pesticides in their food supply.”

Pollinator loss threatens food security in an already fragile supply chain. U.S. beekeepers reported among the highest annual losses ever recorded last year. Research indicates that pollinator loss has already resulted in decreased production of key crops like apples, cherries and tomatoes in the United States.

Whole Foods’ policy requires fresh produce and floral suppliers to adopt Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices by 2025. Suppliers may work with designated third-party certifications with meaningful IPM criteria or submit a legal attestation confirming that they adhere to the requirements of the policy.

In an industry vulnerable to climate change and biodiversity loss, IPM guides farmers to use ecological methods that support the overall sustainability of their land. IPM can reduce use of pesticides by requiring farmers to use non-chemical approaches to manage pests first, such as rotating crops, planting resistant varieties and fostering beneficial insects.

The policy also encourages produce suppliers to phase out the use of the most concerning neonicotinoid pesticides. Research shows that U.S. agriculture has become 48 times more toxic to bees and other insects since the advent of neonicotinoid use three decades ago. In addition, the policy prohibits the use of nitroguanidine neonicotinoids in potted plants – a move aligning the company with the over 140 garden retailers and plant nurseries that have made similar commitments.

Whole Foods’ policy highlights the importance of organic production in the protection of pollinators, stating that the company has “long championed pollinator health through our commitment to organic production.” Organic agriculture is based on robust IPM practices, and the organic certification prohibits the use of over 900 pesticides, including those of highest concern for the health of pollinators and people, such as neonicotinoids, organophosphates and glyphosate. Research shows that organic farming can help pollinators thrive.

The same pesticides that threaten pollinators also harm human health, including the farmworkers and rural communities on the frontlines of exposure. These widely used chemicals also threaten the soil life that is central to regenerative farming approaches that enhance farmers’ resilience to climate change, conserve water and improve soil’s ability to sequester carbon.

Expert Contact: Kendra Klein, Friends of the Earth, 415-350-5957, Kklein@foe.org

Communications Contact: Haven Bourque, 415-505-3473, haven@havenbmedia.com

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Groups, led by Food & Water Watch, Animal Legal Defense Fund, Campaign for Family Farms and The Environment, Friends of the Earth, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and Southern Environmental Law Center, urged USDA not to further subsidize factory farms under the guise of climate action. The push also comes as nearly 200,000 Friends of the Earth members have signed a petition to USDA demanding the agency end its support of the factory farm system.

“Factory farm gas and its dirty methane digesters have no place in our clean energy future or sustainable agriculture,” said Food & Water Watch Senior Food Policy Analyst Rebecca Wolf, an organizer of the letter. “USDA’s latest approved practices only double down on pollution, and divert millions in much-needed federal climate funding from smaller, more sustainable producers. Secretary Vilsack must stop the flow of Inflation Reduction Act conservation funding toward Big Ag’s greenwashing schemes.”

As the letter states, factory farming and the production of factory farm gas are costly industrial practices that “will exacerbate climate change, waste taxpayer dollars, and harm Indigenous peoples and environmental justice communities. This directly contradicts the intent of the Inflation Reduction Act and the stated priorities of the Biden Administration.”

“EPA reporting is clear that factory farms are responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions,” said Ben Lilliston, Director of Climate Strategies at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. “It makes no sense to spend valuable conservation dollars on high cost practices that subsidize this factory farm system at the expense of real conservation practices that can benefit farmers and the climate.”

“By prioritizing Inflation Reduction Act climate spending on factory farming-related practices, USDA is diverting valuable taxpayer dollars away from farmers and ranchers who are truly fighting climate change and instead rewarding Big Ag’s pollution,” said Molly Armus, Animal Agriculture Policy Program Manager at Friends of the Earth. “Subsidizing expensive greenwashing practices like factory farm gas will further entrench industrial animal agriculture and allow for the unbridled polluting of rural communities to continue. This directly undermines the Biden Administration’s stated commitment to environmental justice. We urge USDA to change course and listen to the hundreds of organizations and 200,000 Friends of the Earth members asking it to stop subsidizing factory farms.”

As the letter points out, “according to an analysis by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, just seven anaerobic digesters in California used nearly $2 million in EQIP funding – enough to support the average cost of 238 farms planting cover crops.”

“Using public money to build digesters for factory farm manure isn’t climate-smart,” said Patty Lovera of the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment, a coalition of state and national organizations working to change policies that prop up the factory farm system. “Independent family farms raising livestock sustainably have been shut out of conservation programs for years due to lack of funding, so it makes no sense to use new funding on expensive false solutions like factory farm gas.”

“Funding under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) should be reserved for true conservation practices that prioritize and advance sustainability, climate mitigation, and environmental protection,” said Alicia Prygoski, Strategic Legislative Affairs Manager at the Animal Legal Defense Fund. “The Animal Legal Defense Fund is extremely concerned to see that factory farms will be eligible to receive funding for practices that pollute our air and water, exacerbate the climate crisis, and harm animals – practices that directly contradict the goals of the IRA. We are proud to join nearly 200 other organizations in asking the USDA not to use conservation funding to prop up an industry that will further entrench us in an unsustainable animal agricultural farming system.”

Contacts: Phoebe Galt, Food & Water Watch, 202-683-2504, pgalt@fwwatch.org

Shaye Skiff, Friends of the Earth, 202-222-0723, kskiff@foe.org

Mike Heymsfield, Animal Legal Defense Fund, 707-364-8387, media@aldf.org

The post Groups Oppose Use of Inflation Reduction Act Funding for Polluting Factory Farms appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

The same pesticides that threaten biodiversity are also linked to climate change. They are petrochemicals that are energy-intensive to produce, and they threaten the soil organisms that are central to building healthy soils that can sequester carbon and enhance farmers’ resilience to climate change. They also harm human health, including farmworkers and rural communities on the frontlines of exposure.   

While Giant Eagle improved its score from a B to B+ this year, four companies lost points for not reporting meaningful progress toward meeting the goals stated in their pollinator health policies: Albertsons (NYSE: ACI), Costco (NASDAQ: COST), Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD), and Target (NYSE: TGT). 

Giant Eagle is the only major U.S. food retailer to make a timebound commitment to eliminate key pesticides of concern in part of its supply chain. According to the company’s policy, it will eliminate the use of nitroguanidine neonicotinoids — banned in the EU since 2018 but still allowed in the U.S. — from its produce supply chain by 2025. Research shows that U.S. agriculture has become 48 times more toxic to bees and other beneficial insects since neonicotinoids were introduced in the 1990s.  

“Amid rising concern about an insect apocalypse decimating the small but mighty pollinators responsible for one in three bites of food we eat, grocery retailers are beginning to step up to address the pervasive use of toxic pesticides in their supply chains,” said Kendra Klein, deputy director of science at Friends of the Earth. “But bees are dying at astonishing rates. Retailers must take immediate, measurable action to address their role in the biodiversity crisis.” 

Food retailers have significant economic power to change the food system. Together, the 25 evaluated companies control over $1.78 trillion in food and beverage sales annually. The four largest — Walmart (NYSE: WMT), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Costco and Kroger (NYSE: KR) — controlled $1.02 trillion in 2022.    

The Scorecard also evaluates companies on organic offerings. Organic regulations prohibit the use of over 900 synthetic pesticides, including highly hazardous chemicals like neonicotinoids, organophosphates and glyphosate. Only two of the companies — Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s — have organic offerings that exceed 15% of overall sales, a goal Friends of the Earth is asking all major retailers to meet by 2025.  

Pollinators are a cornerstone to a dependable food supply, contributing approximately $34 billion to the U.S. economy and up to $577 billion to the global economy annually. Research indicates that pollinator loss has already resulted in decreased production of crops like apples and cherries.  

The Bee-Friendly Retailer campaign is supported by over 100 beekeeping, farming, farmworker, consumer and environmental organizations, including Campaign for Healthier Solutions, which works with the dollar stores on phasing out harmful chemicals. 

Expert contact: Kendra Klein, PhD, (415) 350-5957, kklein@foe.org 
Communications contact: Haven Bourque, (415) 505-3473, haven@havenbmedia.com  

The post New Scorecard Reveals U.S. Food Retailers Fail to Protect Bees and Biodiversity appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

In response, Kelly McNamara, Senior Research and Policy Analyst with Friends of the Earth US, issued a statement on behalf of the Stop Financing Factory Farming campaign:

While today’s vote to broaden the World Bank’s mandate to address the climate crisis is a positive step forward, the World Bank’s actions must echo its words. If the World Bank intends for its operations to match its new mission, the Bank must end support for industrial livestock production. 

The climate consequences of industrial animal agriculture are staggering. Studies estimate livestock production will use up nearly half the world’s 1.5°C emissions budget by 2030 and 80% by 2050. The World Bank’s continued support for the global expansion of factory farming is exacerbating the climate crisis at a time when the Bank has committed to align its strategies, investments, and activities with the Paris Agreement’s aim of limiting global warming to well below 2°C and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C. To help preserve our collective chances at a world free of poverty on a livable planet, the World Bank must cease its support for factory farming, the continued expansion of which threatens to keep the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals firmly out of reach.  

Today, we urge the World Bank to seize this pivotal moment to align its food sector investments with its expanded mission. This must involve shifting support away from corporate conglomerates engaged in highly extractive and destructive agricultural practices. It must also involve directing support toward diversified, agroecological, mixed crop and livestock and plant-based systems that not only deliver climate and biodiversity-related benefits but also support small-scale farmers who are the backbone of community food sovereignty and food security. To forego this opportunity would be a disservice to the planet and future generations.

To learn more about why the Bank’s investments in industrial livestock are at odds with its Paris Agreement Commitments, read the  Stop Financing Factory Farming Campaign’s recent report. 

Contact: Holly Shulman, Holly.Shulman@gmail.com

The Stop Financing Factory Campaign works in partnership with locally affected communities and organizations to shift development finance away from industrial livestock production. Campaign Steering Committee members include: the Bank Information Center, Friends of the Earth U.S., the Global Forest Coalition, International Accountability Project (Early Warning System), Sinergia Animal, and World Animal Protection.

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