Thousands Demand Conagra Eliminate Bee-Killing Pesticides from Popcorn
CHICAGO, IL — Today, nearly 30,000 customers demanded top popcorn producer Conagra Brands, Inc. [NYSE: CAG] ensure there is no use of bee-killing neonicotinoid-coated seeds in its supply with a petition delivered in person to the company’s downtown Chicago headquarters. The petition, organized by environmental and consumer health organizations including Friends of the Earth, Center for Food Safety, Green America, Re:wild Your Campus, and Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network, emphasizes Conagra’s ability to impact the entire U.S. market as the owner of popular brands Orville Redenbacher’s, Act II, and Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP.
Activists went to Conagra in person to emphasize the urgency with which the company must act. U.S. agriculture has become nearly 48 times more toxic to insects, including essential pollinators like bees, since the introduction of neonicotinoids, and the EPA asserts that their continued use could push more than 200 threatened and endangered species toward extinction. But it’s not just wildlife: Neonicotinoids also threaten human health, and are linked to birth defects of the heart and brain, damage to the nervous system, and endocrine disruption.
The petition specifically demands that Conagra ensure there is no use of seeds coated with neonicotinoids in its popcorn supply chain. Studies increasingly show that neonic-coated seeds are harmful to pollinators and other wildlife while providing little to no yield or economic benefits to farmers, on average. In some cases, neonic-coated seeds even decrease yield by killing beneficial insects like pollinators and pest predators.
“Everyone loves popcorn, but not when it’s grown with toxic pesticides. Today, thousands of customers are demanding that Conagra makes sure its popcorn is bee-safe,” said Sarah Starman, senior food & agriculture campaigner with Friends of the Earth. “Conagra has the opportunity to lead the industry on this, maintaining its customer base and encouraging other companies to uphold this basic standard.”
In October of last year, 46 environmental, health, and consumer organizations sent Conagra a letter encouraging the company to address neonic-coated seeds in its popcorn supply chain. Conagra declined to respond to the letter.
Along with addressing neonicotinoid seed coatings in popcorn, the petition asks Conagra to make a broader effort to transition away from pesticides and advance safer methods of farming —like organic agriculture—across the entire supply chain. Organic farming has numerous benefits, prohibiting over 900 pesticides used in conventional agriculture, and an organic diet can rapidly and dramatically reduce people’s exposure to pesticides. Decades of research also shows that organic farms, on average, improve soil health, protect biodiversity like essential pollinators, and support human health and community wellbeing.
Contact: Sarah Starman, [email protected]