The stunning Monarch Butterfly on its life-giving Milkweed.
Picture credit: Tiago J. G. Fernandes
When our time on this planet is over, how do you think that our generation of humans or our species will be remembered?
If the rapid rate of death for so many Threatened and Endangered Species is any indicator, we will most likely be thought of in much the same light as the gladiators of ancient Rome.
The present state of existence for the beautiful Monarch butterfly is in a free fall and the major cause of it, is not a shock to those who love animals.
The multitude of heinous acts committed by Monsanto and the ever increasing devastation of living things on our planet is a direct result of their herbicides and pesticides.
This toxic soup is being force-fed to innocent animals, plants and humans, without prejudice, as Monsanto is an equal opportunity chemical assassin.
The continuous overuse of their number one selling product, Roundup, is the prime culprit in the decimation of North American milkweed and it has nearly wiped the plant off of the planet.
You see, Milkweed is mother’s milk for the Monarch and without it, their numbers have declined just this year alone, by 44%.
Their annual winter travels from all over North America south to Mexico, are legendary: Migration and Overwintering
In the past their numbers were staggering, at between “60 million and 1 billion butterflies arriving in the area any given year,” now they are but a pale reflection of their former glory and their prospects for the future grow dimmer each day.
In the end, or ultimately, it is not only the Monarch that are being decimated, it is people, animals and plants all over the world and Monsanto knows exactly what they are doing.
The question remains, what are we going to do?
The only American company with more money and power than Monsanto is Wal-Mart.
So, does it come as any surprise, that between them these two pretty much run this country?
Our Politicians know who writes their campaign checks and refuse to stand up to either of them.
Here is the Petition and if you agree with its thinking, please do sign it and pass it on:
Monsanto: Stop the use of your Monarch-killing herbicide
Places to learn more about this story:
Monarch Population Hits Lowest Point in More Than 20 Years
Monarch Butterflies drop, migration may disappear
New Report Shows Monsanto A Major Culprit in Record Decline of Monarch Butterflies
Butterflies are on the Decline and Monsanto’s GMO Crops are a Major Reason Why
Walking with the Alligators 
There are always traces of the past – but there is always disagreement about what it means.
The difference here to me is that humanity is destroying the planet, resources, species, and people…
and we are the most advance beings on the planet.
Sheesh.
I love animals – and monarch butterflies too!
I’ll sign up.
Thanks as always.
~ Eric
Reblogged this on Hunt FOR Truth on wordpress and commented:
This was SO easy to sign the petition – and I feel good about it too. I hope everyone adds their name to this petition. The Monarch Butterflies can’t really do anything to save themselves.
Thanks. ~ Eric
Thank you so much Eric, for your well chosen words and for passing it on. They are grateful!
Done. I am always stunned by this Monarch issue. They have always been a part of my life and used to be so incredibly abundant and present. That they are vanishing is beyond sad.
Thank you so much Karen for your continuing love of animals~
Signed. It’s such a shock to hear that their numbers have dropped by 44% in just a year! But as you say – the reason for this drop is not a shock at all. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
Thank you for caring for them.
Being the bearer of these sad stories is taking a toll on the messenger.
I completely understand. It’s crushing – having to bear witness to, and share, such terrible suffering. Know that what you do certainly makes a difference.
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Nice, I love the butterflies, and shared this on facebook thanks. Such grim news. Isn’t the plant in the photo a Lantana?
Thank you for your comments.
I thought/think so, but am not positive.
We have both milkweed and its hybrid Lantana on our property.
There are many variations.
Have seen the adults laying eggs and the gorgeous caterpillars that follow.
What a joy they are to watch.
The milkweed flower was my avatar for a couple months; I never realised how important a role it plays in the ecosystem. Sad to read of the decimation of the Monarch population esp because of how strong a symbol the butterfly is.
You are so right. Thank you for your thoughts.
Done. Monarchs are part of the fabric of my childhood.
Thank you. They have been for many of us.
Now we must stop this tragedy from ending them forever.
Noticing less butterflies on my butterfly bush and other hummingbird and butterfly friendly plants. It does seem that each civilization has created it’s own destruction. We humans may soon follow the butterfly, honey bees and birds.
Agreed.
Pesticides and toxins in our foods will end all life, if they are not stopped.
It’s mindboggling what our species is doing; with full knowledge. We know about plant intelligence, yet we dump poisons on them and on the planet. And we’ve known for YEARS about their effects on a most beautiful species (among others). THANKS as always for spreading the word… Education!
Have you read about the highly toxic chemical in Subway’s bread?
It is used to make yoga mats, etc.
It makes foods yellow!
It has been banned in most of the rest of the world, but not here!
It is in everything and there is a petition to stop it. But can’t find it yet.
Please do come back here and post it if you find it~
WHAT?!? No…. I had NEVER heard of this! Holy cow. There isn’t enough disgust to adequately convey what I’m thinking. And yet — we haven’t BANNED it in the States?
If I run across it, I’ll let you know!!! (The petition, that is.)
Those of us that care, continue to try and make a difference and give voice and outrage. Good for you.
Good for all who refuse to look away when animals are being hurt!
I’m enjoying your animal blog, I believe boycotting GMOs will ultimately hurt the likes of Monsato most. If you have an iPhone buy the fooducate app and scan products as you shop, the app reveals GMO containing products when you scan their UPC. Looking forward to your new cultural blog. Doing my part at home planting milkweed. Just recently moved my blog to WordPress, my old server found me talking to myself with no readership.
Thank you vey much for your kind words Carey.
Bless you for the milkweed!
As for the phone, we live in the woods of Central Florida, no signals here, so gave back our cell phone 6 years ago~
That app is a God send, I wish everyone had it.
We need to stop feeding ourselves and our pets poisons!
I have followed the numerous actions by so many strong groups and so far, sadly see absolutely no affect on Monsanto. They are, I fear above reproach. It may take an act of Congress to straighten them out.
Oh wait, they already control Congress!
BTW have you heard of the toxins being used in Subway’s bread? Think it is made by Bayer.
It was on our local news here yesterday and the ingredient has been banned nearly everywhere but in America.
It is quite deadly. There is a petition they say, have not found it yet. It is in everything to make things yellow!
Please do let me know if you find out where the Petition is, will post it to FB.
I heard about it yesterday too. I think anything that affects their bottom line will bring change, really ironic considering their old weight loss claims they milked for so long. Good thing is people are better and more rapidly informed these days, change is accelerated too. I agree Monsanto looks like one huge unstoppable monster, but the light revealing truth will be their undoing. Lies can only persist in the dark.
I saw so few Monarchs last autumn 😦
Here in Florida they have greatly decreased in numbers as well~
Reblogged this on League of Bloggers For a Better World.
Being here in Mexico, we have been following the monarch migration in homeschool with our kids, and seeing the numbers is definitely extremely frustrating. We are trying to expose our kids to as much of the natural world as we can while it still exists in some state, and we are glad to have found your blog and the important topics you are writing about.
Last year I had my neighbor put in some raised beds; some dedicated specifically to milkweed pods! When I heard about the plight of the monarch I was devastated. Trying to my bit, I’m hoping I can help in my small way. I planted seeds last year. I have no idea if they will grow….but I’m hoping!
How wonderfully kind and caring you are for your fellow creature.
Thank you from them.
Hope your plants flourish and bring your monarchs soon~
Oh me too! I’m so excited to see if they grow! And a friend gave me wildflower seeds for Xmas and I will plant them there too!
The petition is easy to sign and done. I have to call Monsanto one of the largest evil corporations of our time. Their abuses are legendary but sadly there isn’t much hope for change in the U.S. What hope is there for change when a sitting Supreme Court justice (Thomas) used to the the chief legal counsel for Monsanto. Also the Deputy Commissioner for Food at the FDA was a member of the law firm that often represented Monsanto. We will have to continue to look to the European Union to stop the Monsanto abuse.
Monsanto is also the culprit that has produced a corn hybrid that produces its own pesticide in each kernel and terminator seeds that won’t germinate in a second generation, they are enslaving an entire world to eating their poison. Yes, every time you eat non-GMO certified corn you are eating pesticide. How tasty.
They have an army of lawyers that vindictively attack anyone or organization that starts to make headway with the political machine. In the meantime they continue to buy Congress and keep out reform efforts. The idea of eating any product that has been created by recombinant RNA with the assurance from Monsanto that the recombining part of the RNA has stopped its modification process when it enters your body is foolish.
They have been allowed by the FDA to terminate tests that weren’t producing the results they want. Thing Deputy Commissioner. Monsanto is getting away with slowly poisoning the world and only the European Union is standing in their way. Sorry for the rant but you hit a very sore topic with me.
We are in complete agreement on Monsanto. They truly may be our generations Hitler.
thank you for drawing attention to this terrible problem.
Thank you for caring about it too!
My prayer is that each of you passes this information on. Do not allow them, Monsanto, to end all the world’s beauty with their poisons. We are basically paying them to do it, if we do not stop them.
Al Jazeera aired a news story on the plight of the Monarch yesterday. Beautiful images of the butterflies clustering. Hope it helps get the message further.
Thank you so much for sharing that information.
It is wonderful to hear this!