A Meat and Dairy Article from All-Creatures.org

Cattle vs. Grasshoppers in the Wild West

From Center for the Study of Biological Diversity
June 2022

In the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s campaign to protect the interests of livestock operators, even grasshoppers are targeted for the crime of eating grass.

Grasshopper - Silas jeger, Pexels

In the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s campaign to protect the interests of livestock operators, even grasshoppers are targeted for the crime of eating grass. The USDA oversees and funds the spraying of pesticides across millions of acres of grasslands in 17 states to prevent native grasshoppers from competing with cattle for forage. In the process, these insecticides also harm bees, butterflies, beetles and other insects — as well as putting endangered fish, birds and other wildlife at risk.

The Center and our allies took legal action against the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for failing to consider harms to endangered species caused by this widespread insecticide spraying. “It’s outrageous that amid our heartbreaking extinction crisis, APHIS continues to give itself carte blanche to spray incredibly toxic poisons on millions of acres of wildlife habitat throughout the West,” said Lori Ann Burd, director of environmental health at the Center.

Here's one thing you can do: The USDA’s wildlife killing programs are driven by America’s outsized demand for beef. Replace beef on the grill this summer with an extinction-free barbecue.

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