Scotts Miracle-Gro pleads guilty to selling poisoned bird seed

[n2doc]

BY SARAH PARSONS


Scotts Miracle-Gro products are known for zapping weeds dead. But it turns out they could be killing decidedly more attractive creatures — birds.

Scotts pled guilty this Tuesday to charges that the company illegally put insecticides in its “Morning Song” and “Country Pride” brands of bird seed. That’s right: The company knowingly coated products intended for birds to eat with substances toxic to birds and wildlife.

According to court records, in 2008, Scotts distributed 73 million packages of bird seed coated with the insecticides Storcide II, containing the active ingredient chlorpyrifos, and and Actellic 5E, containing the active ingredient pirimiphos-methyl, intended to keep insects from destroying the seed.

The company continued to produce and market the insecticide-coated seeds despite being alerted to toxicity dangers by a Scotts staff chemist and ornithologist.

And here’s the icing on the toxin-loaded cake: Storcide II, one of the insecticides in Scotts seed, comes with a huge warning label that reads: “Toxic to birds, toxic to wildlife” and “Exposed treated seed may be hazardous to birds.” Must be that a senior exec at Scotts got shat on by a pigeon one day and took it real personal.

more
http://grist.org/list/scotts-miracle-gro-pleads-guilty-to-selling-poisoned-bird-seed/?postpost=v2

evil....

[Agony]

1. How many years will SMG spend in jail?

[Zalatix]

5. They are a person, after all!

[Initech]

20. Can companies do jail time? If they're people they should.

[kestrel91316]

2. Shameful. They probably had a stockpile of the toxic stuff they

needed to get rid of and took a clue from the Chinese about how to dispose of hazardous waste.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

3. no. fucking. words.

[RobertEarl]

6. Same here. Just spitting mad.

[RogerRiver]

4. Sickening...

I just returned my bag of Scott's grass seed after seeing this yesterday. Will not be giving that company any more of my money

[XanaDUer]

7. I agree

Boycott time.

[hedgehog]

8. If you wouldn't put out poisoned bird seed, stop using poisons on your lawn!

Seriously - all those "weeds" and insects are what we refer to as "biodiversity". They are the basis for the food chain that feeds the birds.

[RogerRiver]

13. Agree...

Stopped using weed killer herbicide along time go. Avoid ortho and roundup!!

[Joe the Revelator]

16. This is silly....killing weeds responsibly to protect more desirable plants is not evil..

[KT2000]

23. I would say it is

if you learn about those chemicals and cotninue to use them. First of all do not believe the manufacturers claims of safety. Instead, make a list of the chemicals you are applying and do your own research. You can start by locating the MSDS sheets for the products you use on the web.
Go to the web site for Environmental Health Perspectives, a journal published by the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences, part of NIH. Put the chemical name into the search.
Search these sites:
www.healthandenvironment.org
http://exotoxnet.orst.edu
www.silentspring.org

be sure to get the latest research on Roundup too.

When you use these products you are putting them into the air for everyone in the neighborhood to breathe - children, pregnant women, the elderly and sick people as well as healthy people. Learn which chemicals can affect the developing fetus because you may be making a decision that will affect someone's entire life.
The run-off will likely extend to places where people and animals walk.
When you, and others, track the chemicals into your house they exist for a long time on your floors - especially carpets because they require sunshine and water to break down.
Babies are exposed to greater quantities because they always put things in their mouth and they spend time on the floor. Their weight abnd exposure ratio is greater. Also - for some chemicals they do not have matured systems capable of dealing with those chemicals.
Here are just some of the health conditions associated with pesticides and herbicides:
Aplastic anemia, arrythmias, asthma, cancers: bone/ewing sarcoma, brain, kidney, pancreatic, testicular
cognitive impairment
leukemia
miscarriage
multiple myloma
parkinson's disease
reduced fertility

Even low levels can harm people and a developing fetus may have development blocked that results in permanent damage. When they are older they are often called learning disabled.

[REP]

25. True, but weeds can be controlled without chemical warfare

I grow orchids. Hundreds of orchids. You think I tolerate aphids, snails, mealy bugs, etc? Fuck no. I kill them, but I use alcohol, soap and water. Doesn't harm the birds that visit my growing area.

Weeds can be controlled by pulling, selective planting, and if one has the room, chickens. I'm landscaping the lot at my house as grass-free as possible - we're in drought most of the year and I think grass is boring - and I'm looking at aggressive ground cover

[Texasgal]

26. There are plenty of

non poisionus ways to kill weeds. There is nothing wrong with killing them.

Vinegar is one way.

You don't need poison to do it.

[Snake Alchemist]

24. I tried that last year and my lawn is an absolute mess this year.

Cannot even walk through it do the the various spiny weeds that got a foothold. Sorry, no thanks.

[KT2000]

28. Learn what you are doing

If it takes poisoning our family and neighbors, maybe the perfect lawn is not the answer.
First of all do not believe the manufacturers claims of safety. Instead, make a list of the chemicals you are applying and do your own research. You can start by locating the MSDS sheets for the products you use on the web.
Go to the web site for Environmental Health Perspectives, a journal published by the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences, part of NIH. Put the chemical name into the search.
Search these sites:
http://www.healthandenvironment.org
http://exotoxnet.orst.edu
http://www.silentspring.org

be sure to get the latest research on Roundup too.

When you use these products you are putting them into the air for everyone in the neighborhood to breathe - children, pregnant women, the elderly and sick people as well as healthy people. Learn which chemicals can affect the developing fetus because you may be making a decision that will affect someone's entire life.
The run-off will likely extend to places where people and animals walk.
When you, and others, track the chemicals into your house they exist for a long time on your floors - especially carpets because they require sunshine and water to break down.
Babies are exposed to greater quantities because they always put things in their mouth and they spend time on the floor. Their weight abnd exposure ratio is greater. Also - for some chemicals they do not have matured systems capable of dealing with those chemicals.
Here are just some of the health conditions associated with pesticides and herbicides:
Aplastic anemia, arrythmias, asthma, cancers: bone/ewing sarcoma, brain, kidney, pancreatic, testicular
cognitive impairment
leukemia
miscarriage
multiple myloma
parkinson's disease
reduced fertility

Even low levels can harm people and a developing fetus may have development blocked that results in permanent damage. When they are older they are often called learning disabled.

[Snake Alchemist]

29. Sorry, can't walk through my own lawn. The kids can't even use it. Just put down pre-emergent.

Next up is general weed and feed.

[KT2000]

33. in that case

look up 2,4-D - especially current research.
Knowledgeable public health professionals have been trying to get it banned.

[KT2000]

40. some more info

this website has some info that will help you make informed decisions. There are resources on the right side of the page - you will notice that many of our current health problems are arising from exposures to toxic chemicals.
http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/doczone/2008/disappearingmale/chemicals.html.

[Snake Alchemist]

41. Seems to be affecting the web too.

"Sorry, we can't find the page you requested. "

[KT2000]

42. I'm sorry -

I don't know what happened. Failed for me too. Here is a link to the main page: http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/doczone/2008/disappearingmale/

It works for sure if you google: CBC Disappearing Male
Very interesting information there

[CreekDog]

35. well if harming the environment with chemicals is less important that your lawn

well, i guess there isn't much to discuss. you got yours.

screw the bugs, the insects and the birds that depend on them.

(also, probably can't call yourself an environmentalist)

[Snake Alchemist]

39. Most of my significant weed problems are from invasive species. Speaking of bugs

Thanks for reminding me that I need to fog the lawn. My young niece is staying for the day this Thursday and we have a huge problem with mosquitoes.

[arikara]

34. I read "Silent Spring" decades ago

and have never used poisons.

[silverweb]

9. Unbelievable!

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]But why? It doesn't make any sense. I don't understand what they could have been thinking.

[Mariana]

30. They were thinking no one would find out, I guess.

Keep the bugs from eating the seed so we don't lose money. Use the CHEAP bugkiller to maximize our profit. So what if it kills birds. The birds won't drop dead right away at the feeders. No one will ever know.

[silverweb]

32. Bugs in stored seed.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Profits. I get it now.

[progressoid]

10. WTF?

[RogerRiver]

11. It's time to boycott..

All - spread the word, twitter, Facebook the heck out of this. This is a prime example of why we need regulation. This was done despite warnings from the company's orinthologist.

Boycott Scotts, miracle gro, ortho, roundup, morning song, country pride.

[woo me with science]

12. This is an excellent example of why it is so dangerous

to cede our government to corporations. Corporations don't have morality. They function for profit and the bottom line, period.

They knew. Someone obviously made a calculation. Continuing to sell the seed and facing any fines or judgments that would come of that was more lucrative than doing the right thing.

We are putting analogous judgments - about war, about environmental issues, about health care, about the treatment of our poor and elderly, about our educational system - in the hands of corporations every single day we don't fight back against the purchase of our government.

[freshwest]

21. +1,000,000

[Mabus]

14. I remember participating on a thread a few years ago about bird populations

this explains some of what was discussed.

iirc, the thread was about a decline in some of the more prevalent species in different areas of the country. I know I saw fewer robins and almost no cardinals where I live. At the time, I thought part of the problem in my particular neighborhood was due to my city's use of lawn chemicals. Now that this has come out about Scott's, it explains the decrease in population a little more fully. I live in a pretty laid-back, socially and environmentally conscious neighborhood where bird feeders are standard.

This revelation is disgusting.

[magical thyme]

15. vile, despicable, sub-human filthy scumbag pigs

I never buy their products. Now I will write to them and explain to them exactly what I think of them.

[Joe the Revelator]

17. Have they given a reason as to why they did this...

It seems incomprehensible.

[RogerRiver]

18. This was their response in 2008...

Dear Fellow Bird Lover,

You might find that your favorite Scotts, Morning Song or Country Pride wild bird or wild animal food isn't available where you normally buy it.

We are in the process of replacing these products because we determined that we needed to stop applying certain insect controls. These controls were used to make sure that our bird and animal food wasn't infested with moths and other problem-causing insects.

The insect controls that we had used are EPA-approved for use on some stored grains, including grains that may be turned into human food. However, the insect controls are not EPA-approved for wild bird food or wild animal food.

We believe that the wild bird food and wild animal food did not constitute a significant health risk to wild birds, small animals or humans who handle the food.

We have discontinued use of the unapproved insect controls.

[felix_numinous]

19. Insecticides in birdseed?

Scotts as a chemlawn company is as environmentally destructive as Monsanto, sadly this is not surprising.

We are 'the environment'-- as without so within--our bodies come from the Earth, take in nourishment from the Earth and return to the Earth. We are Earthlings--and myths teaching people they are 'above it all' with dominion 'over' everything is where we took a turn for the worst!

[surrealAmerican]

22. Fines are not enough.

We need to be able to send the people who made these decisions to jail.

[hankthecrank]

27. little birds have a very hard time Thanks Scotts for making the world a shitter place

[Snake Alchemist]

31. So how many birds died as a result of this? I know exactly what they were trying to do here.

Trying to control Indianmeal Moths.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indianmeal_Moth

[CreekDog]

36. You're standing up for this STILL?

are there too many birds?

[Snake Alchemist]

38. Not at all. Just explaining that they didn't do this for kicks.

Not sure if they're required to have measures against the moth or they just thought it would be a good idea. I know they're a huge problem for cereal, grains, etc.