Suspended USDA researcher alleges agency tried to block his research into harmful effects of pesticides on bees, butterflies

A prominent Agriculture Department scientist is alleging that he was suspended after complaining that the agency was blocking his research into the harmful effects of pesticides on pollinators, such as bees and butterflies.

...his supervisors retaliated against him by suspending him initially for 30 days before reducing it to 14 days.

...the agency tried to prevent him from speaking about his findings for political reasons and interfered with his ability to review the research of other scientists.

The whistleblower complaint says that Lundgren’s “work showed the adverse effects of certain widely used pesticides, findings which have drawn national attention as well as the ire of the agricultural industry.”

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