rotten, dead.” If you lived near the plant, you couldn’t open your windows. Birds stopped coming to feeders. People reported nosebleeds and eye irritation. A dog who ate some of the seed mash became sick, exhibiting neurological symptoms. Bee colonies collapsed: a University of Nebraska researcher reported that every single beehive on a university farm located a mile outside of Mead died off, the timing coinciding with AltEn’s use of chemical-treated seeds. The researcher supplied video of butterflies and birds in the area that appear neurologically impaired.
In February 2021, state regulators closed down AltEn’s plant and are currently suing the company for violating state environmental laws dealing with how solid waste, like the seed sludge, was being stored, how wastewater discharges from the seed “lagoons” were improperly managed, and for pollution of waterways without a permit, among other violations cited by the lawsuit. But that was just the beginning.
Just days after the shutdown, a frozen pipe ruptured at the plant and sent 4 million gallons of wastewater into local rivers and streams. Researchers worry about extensive groundwater contamination that could threaten an underground aquifer that supplies water to parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Environmental regulators detected noenicitinoids and fungicides 40 feet below ground at a drinking water well six miles downstream from the ethanol plant. Experts say that this is an indication that the process of contamination is only just beginning because toxins can take years to filter down through the soil and into the aquifer.
The toxic fermented seed lagoons are still there, a year later. They have been covered in a mixture of cement, clay, and polyester to try to trap the toxic material until a longer-term solution is developed. But before that, inspections of the lagoons found tears in the liner that could have allowed the waste to seep into the ground. The concentration of toxic pesticides in the lagoons is staggering. Neonicotinoids were detected at over 5,000 times the level considered “safe” by the EPA.
Sadly, it would be a mistake to say that this is a “lesson learned” and this kind of catastrophe will be avoided in the future. The use of chemically-treated seeds is increasing, partly because there is a loophole in federal law that allows seeds to be coated with toxic pesticides without any requirement that the EPA assesses the environmental or public health effects of their use—meaning there is effectively no oversight of this practice.
The rationale for using treated seeds is to increase crop yields. When seeds are planted, there are many diseases and pests that can attack young seeds and seedlings. Using seeds treated with pesticide reduces the need to spray chemicals during the growing season. But research is finding that farming strategies that foster beneficial, predatory insects can be more effective than pesticides at pest management. In fact, a 2015 study found that the use of coated soybeans actually reduced crop yields by poisoning the predators that kill slugs, which can cause extensive damage to corn and soy fields. And the supposed benefit of not having to spray as many pesticides during the growing season is offset by the fact that about 40 percent of farmers are unaware that their seeds are treated with insecticides. Seed treatment also increases the proportion of pesticides that enter soil and groundwater: from 90 to 99 percent of the active ingredient in a seed coating is lost to air, soil, and water.
Over 150 million acres of farmland are planted with chemically-treated seeds, including nearly four tons of neonicotinoids. Almost every corn and cotton seed planted in the US is coated in pesticides, about half of soybean seeds. This tool allows you to see where pesticides are being applied in the US. States like Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri seem to be hotspots for neonicotinoid application.
Let this sink in: the seeds used to grow our food have led to an entire town becoming a Superfund site.
The EPA is, once again, selling consumers out to protect special interests. Seed companies are allowed to get away with poisoning our water, air, and soil with pesticide-coated seeds that don’t even deliver on the promise of higher crop yields. And these seeds are becoming the standard for growing commodity crops like corn, soy, and cotton. Avoiding these foods—and the ultra-processed foods that corn and soy are used to produce—is one way to avoid the potential health impacts of these coated seeds. You can also stick to organic produce or produce grown by local farms that you trust.
We need to shift to a regenerative approach to human health as well as agriculture. This means reducing toxic inputs into our soil, water and air, and increasing the availability of nutrient-dense foods. Healthy food can support a regenerative approach to healthcare where diet, proper supplementation, and the avoidance of toxins and pollutants address key sources of our chronic disease epidemic.
We need to close the loophole that allows seeds coated in toxic chemicals to be used without any oversight or safety evaluation.