Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) today directed the New York Department of Environmental Conservation to take action to ban the use of chlorpyrifos. With the governor’s action, New York has joined Hawai’i and California in outlawing the use of the neurotoxic pesticide.

Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) has released a pollinator health policy aimed at encouraging its suppliers to phase out the use of pollinator-toxic pesticides: glyphosate, neonicotinoids and organophosphates, including chlorpyrifos.

Public health, environmental and consumer organizations today rallied outside Governor Cuomo’s office to urge him to sign S.5343, which would ban the pesticide chlorpyrifos in the state of New York.

ALDI U.S. has released a pollinator policy aimed at encouraging its suppliers of fruits, vegetables, live plants and flowers to phase out the use of chlorpyrifos and neonicotinoid pesticides.

Today, over 80 citizen, agricultural, disability, environmental, health, and labor advocacy groups sent a public letter to Gov. Cuomo urging him to protect the health of children and farmworkers by banning the brain-damaging pesticide chlorpyrifos.

A new peer-reviewed study shows an explosion in the toxicity of U.S. agriculture for insects over the past 25 years since neonicotinoid pesticides were introduced. The study found that U.S. agriculture is 48 times more toxic to insect life, and that neonicotinoids account for 92 percent of the increase in toxicity.

The EPA’s refusal to ban chlorpyrifos ignores decades of science showing that this pesticide has irrevocable effects on human health and the environment.

Kroger (NYSE: KR) released an update to its pollinator policy today encouraging suppliers to move away from pesticides and adopt alternative pest management. The policy states Kroger supports the expansion of organic food and products that are affordable for many families. 

Kroger’s business, and our food system, is dependent on healthy pollinators and ecosystems...

Groups including local Ohio organizers, farmworkers from Florida, students and public health, beekeeping, environmental, faith-based and consumer allies will protest at Kroger’s annual shareholder meeting to urge the food company to change its pesticide policies during their annual event.