This commentary is by Margaret Fowle and Rosemary Malfi. Margaret Fowle is a senior conservation biologist at Audubon Vermont. Rosemary Malfi, Ph.D., is the pesticide program policy lead at Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
In Vermont and across the U.S., the practice of coating crop seeds in potent insecticides has become widespread — really widespread. Insecticide-treated seeds are used to grow more than 95% of corn and 50-60% of soybeans planted in the U.S., and neonicotinoid seed coatings are the largest contributor to insecticide use in the state, mainly due to corn. These neurotoxins are harmful to birds, bees, and other wildlife. But Vermont could lead on this issue. Current House bill 706 would prohibit the sale, distribution, or use of any neonicotinoid treated seed for corn, soy and other cereal grains unless a pest threat warranting use is established.
Neonicotinoids (“neonics”) are the most common insecticides used as seed treatments. The upper estimate for neonicotinoids applied by seed treatment is more than all other insecticides combined. Neonic seed coatings are particularly pernicious because they are used annually as a preventative measure, not in response to an active pest threat or history of seed pests. Thousands of pounds of pesticides may therefore be applied unnecessarily in Vermont every year.
This practice must stop. The widespread use of pesticide-treated seeds as a preventive treatment is ecologically damaging, and research from our Quebec neighbors shows that neonicotinoid-treated seeds are useful in less than 5% of fields. Research by Cornell and UVM indicates that seed treatments do not result in higher yield. UVM recently hosted a panel of Quebec dairy, corn silage, and vegetable farmers who clearly communicated that transitioning to untreated seed has been successful – and less expensive!
Neonic pesticides significantly threaten bird species already in rapid decline. Neonic-treated seeds can directly kill a songbird, affect migration patterns, cause weight loss, and impact reproductive success. They also reduce insect populations, the primary food source for many of Vermont’s songbirds. Critical to Vermont’s ecosystems, birds disperse seed, control pests, and pollinate. They also inspire wonder and joy. Bird populations have declined rapidly since 1970, with grassland birds declining more than 50%, flying insect-eating birds more than 30%, and farmland bird species 74%. Agricultural pesticides are likely a significant contributor to these alarming declines.
Neonicotinoids are also a major driver of bee declines. Toxic dust produced during planting can result in death. Perhaps worse, chronic exposure to typical doses in the environment can impair learning, foraging, and caretaking behavior and can reduce reproduction. In addition to managed honeybees, Vermont is home to ~350 wild bee species. The Vermont Center for Ecostudies finds that 55 of these species need immediate conservation action, and half of Vermont’s bumble bee species have vanished or are in serious decline. Bees are essential for food security: over 80% of the world’s plants require pollination. Pollinators are the glue holding our ecosystems together.
Continued declines in pollinator and bird populations will hurt Vermont’s economy. The Agency of Agriculture reports that Vermont is home to over 6,800 farms that produce food, feed, seed, and fiber crops that are dependent on pollination. These include apples, blueberries, pumpkins, tomatoes, and alfalfa. Vermont has the largest number of residents who enjoy bird watching, about twice the national average. The state’s natural areas draw in non-residents as wildlife watchers who contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to the state each year.
It’s not just the birds and bees that are at risk. Pesticide-treated seeds pose a growing threat to the health of waterways. Contamination from treated seeds is linked to declines of critically important aquatic insects that are eaten by fish like trout, large and small-mouthed bass, and bluegills. When aquatic insects decline, the effects can spread and ripple up the food chain: fish and birds rely on healthy populations of aquatic insects for their food.
Vermont recently attempted to address treated seed contamination. In 2022, the legislature directed the Agricultural Innovation Board (AIB) to develop best practices to minimize harm from the use of neonic-treated seeds. Unfortunately, the AIB declined to heed current science and provide any such measures, and nothing has changed. Meanwhile, New York just passed a bill to prohibit the use of neonic-treated seed unless their need can be verified. Quebec passed a similar bill in 2019.
Now is the time to protect bees, birds, wildlife, and each other. Urge your legislator to support this bill and show that Vermonters demand action.
