Dead Bees Everywhere

Dead Bees Everywhere

This could be huge: a global retailer might be about to pull bee-killing pesticides from its shelves. If others join, this could be a decisive victory for the bees.

Bees are dying off in their millions around the world, including 37 million (!) on a single North American farm last season. After years of research, scientists finally know the cause. "Neonics" -- deadly pesticides produced by Bayer and other chemical giants. But while the bees are dying, corporations around the world are still selling these bee-killing pesticides. 

That's why a global retailer breaking ranks could be a game changer. If they stop carrying the pesticides, it could start a snowball effect and stop bee-killing pesticides for good. But we know the big corporations that profit from these deadly pesticides are fighting back. Bayer is already spending a pile of cash on a huge "bee care tour" designed to buy the trust of retailers and small businesses with false information. 

We can't allow the pesticide industry to be the only voice in the room when retailers decide whether to stop selling bee-killers. Many of the largest companies are just weeks or months away from their annual shareholder meetings -- and we need to make sure they hear our message there. That's why we want to fund activist beekeepers who've been watching their bees die for years to take their message directly to the shareholders, and raise a storm outside the meetings too. 

Can you chip in $1 to take the voices of beekeepers to these meetings and launch a massive campaign get bee-killing pesticides cleared from shelves worldwide?

Only recently, the giant US retailers Home Deport and Lowe’s were found to be selling so-called ‘bee-friendly’ plants that were actually laced with neonics! It’s almost unbelievable. But as long as retailers like Home Depot in the US and Canada, or Bunnings in Australia won’t remove neonics from their shelves, then the world’s bee population is still at risk.

We know that consumer pressure on retailers works. Before Europe’s partial ban on neonics, there was a huge movement that pushed some of the biggest retailers on the continent to voluntarily remove neonics from their shelves. If we can make sure that other retailers in Canada, the US, Australia and elsewhere pledge to stop selling neonics then we can halt the sale of these deadly pesticides. 

The voices of the beekeepers is powerful -- and that's why these companies and their shareholders need to hear from the beekeepers. Last year, after thousands of SumOfUs members chipped in, our activist beekeepers traveled to Chicago and took their message directly to independent garden store owners at the world's largest gardening convention -- singing up dozens to our campaign.

Can you chip in $1 to help us fund beekeepers to speak out and to push companies to remove bee-killing pesticides from their shelves?

The fight to save our bees has made some big steps. But Bayer and other pesticide giants aren’t taking this lying down. Now, we need to take the battle to those retailers that are still selling neonics. If we can stop the flow of cash, then we’re one step closer to protecting our bees. 

Thanks for all you do,
Paul, Martin and the team at SumOfUs