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According to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, the western monarch butterfly population — an essential pollinator — was counted at 9,119 in 2024, a stunning 96% decrease from the 233,394 counted in 2023.
Even though monarchs are not the primary pollinators for food crops, their decline represents a serious sign of larger environmental issues. It is also an indicator of the overall health and vulnerability of other pollinators, such as bees, birds and bats, who contribute to 35% of the world’s total crop production, pollinating 87 of 115 leading food crops worldwide.
“What is happening to the monarch butterfly mirrors what is happening to the other pollinators, and if the population collapses, we may not be able to recover it,” said Emma Pelton, senior endangered species conservation biologist, western monarch lead at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
“Unfortunately, not all pollinators are nearly as studied nor as recognized by the general public, so their demise gets much less attention. However, they are all very key parts of the entire ecosystem, one that is deeply connected and reliant on each other.”
THE CAUSE AND RESPONSIBILITY
For those who have been fighting to protect monarch butterflies, the culprit behind their disappearance is not in doubt.
“The science is clear: herbicides, such as glyphosate, have decimated milkweed — the monarch caterpillar’s sole food source — on cropland throughout the eastern population’s critical Midwest breeding range,” said Bill Freese, science director at Center for Food Safety. “Meanwhile, drift-prone herbicides, like dicamba, kill or impair reproduction of flowering plants that adult monarchs need for nectar, and insecticides, such as neonicotinoids, poison monarchs directly.”
In Canada, monarchs are listed as “endangered” under the Species At Risk Act, and in Mexico, they are listed as a species of special protection under the country’s law. Additionally, the International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies them as “vulnerable.”
In the U.S., however, the battle to safeguard the monarch butterflies has been anything but easy.
Center for Food Safety, along with its allies at the Center for Biological Diversity, Xerces Society and renowned monarch biologist Dr. Lincoln Brower, petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2014 to protect the iconic butterflies under the Endangered Species Act.
Yet, more than a decade later, amidst numerous delays and legal appeals, the agency has still not acted.
While the legal battle makes its way through government channels, some brands are taking proactive steps to help make a difference.
Burroughs Family Farms, a Regenerative Organic Certified® almond farm in California, has been planting milkweed to create habitat for monarchs.
“We have a decline of species, and that alarms us,” said Benina Montes, a fifth-generation owner of her family farm. “It is incumbent on all of us to do what we can to protect these valuable pollinators because our biodiversity and ability to feed ourselves are at stake.”
At the end of the day, the government has a critical role in protecting our food supply, and while the White House is adamant about rolling back regulations, not increasing them, a refusal to restrict insecticide use will have incredibly grave consequences.
“The monarchs’ tragic collapse represents a damning indictment of industrial agriculture and pesticide use,” said George Kimbrell, legal director at the Center for Food Safety. “GMO companies will tell you that these very toxic chemicals are critical to feeding the population. That’s false. The evidence shows that genetically-engineered crops do not increase yield; they only increase pesticide resistance. And worse, the reality is actually that these same toxic chemicals, if left unchecked, will be the single reason that our population cannot grow enough food.”
CURRENT STATUS
In December, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had proposed endangered species protection for monarchs, with a public comment period that closed earlier this month. However, last week, the Trump administration extended the comment period until May 19, 2025.
In support of this listing, Center for Food Safety submitted dozens of scientific studies and sources, and spearheaded a group sign-on letter that was joined by 50 conservation organizations, along with over 16,000 comments from individuals.
It is now up to our country’s leadership to decide what happens next.
(Photo courtesy of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and Stephanie McKnight)
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With gratitude, 
Max Goldberg, Founder |
These multi-billion dollar verdicts are not going to last forever, as the company recently introduced new residential lawn and gardening Roundup products that are free from glyphosate -- but 45x more toxic. We wrote about this new formulation last fall.
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