USDA Urged to Identify Alternatives to Neonics

The Organic Trade Association urges the U.S. Department of Agriculture to move forward in investigating the most successful models — including organic systems and organic agricultural practices — to protect the habitat of pollinators. It called on USDA and the Environmental Protection Agency to recommit to identifying alternatives to neonicotinoid pesticides.

OTA’s board of directors adopted a strong set of policy positions on pollinator health that promote organic farming as part of the national solution to conserve and protect pollinator populations.

"It’s time our policymakers recognize organic’s contribution to our pollinator population, and officially make organic a part of the solution,” says Melissa Hughes of Organic Valley and president of OTA’s Board. “Organic farming alleviates many threats to bees and other pollinators by not using synthetic pesticides and supporting biodiversity and the habitat of pollinators.”

Seventy-five percent of all crops grown for human consumption rely on pollinators, mostly honey bees, for a successful harvest. Every year more than $16 billion worth of crops in the United States alone benefit from pollination. But over the past decade, the bee population has plummeted. Since 2006, beekeepers have lost over a third of their bee hives.