24 hours to save the bees

24-hours-to-save-the-bees

We received letter in our redaction from Avaaz.org that we think it is worth to publish. Here it is so read it and decide it for yourself!

 

Dear friends,

Pesticides are killing bees and threatening our food supply. In 24 hours, shareholders at the biggest chemical producer, Bayer, could vote to stop their toxic production. Massive public pressure has forced this debate at their Annual General Meeting, now let’s make sure they vote to stop the pesticides and save the bees.Sign the emergency petition:

Sign the petition

Quietly, globally, billions of bees are dying, threatening our crops and food. But if Bayer stops selling one group of pesticides, we could save bees from extinction. Four European countries have begun banning these poisons, and some bee populations are already recovering. But Bayer, the largest producer of neonicotinoids, has lobbied hard to keep them on the market. Now, massive global pressure from Avaaz and others has forced them to consider the facts – and in 24 hours, Bayer shareholders will vote on a motion that could stop these toxic chemicals. Let’s all act now and shame the shareholders to stop killing bees. The pressure is working, and this is our best chance to save the bees. Sign the urgent petition and send this to everyone – let’s reach half a million signers and deliver it directly to shareholders tomorrow in Germany!

Bees don’t just make honey, they are vital to life on earth, every year pollinating 90% of plants and crops – with an estimated $40bn value, over one-third of the food supply in many countries. Without immediate action to save bees, many of our favourite fruits, vegetables, and nuts could vanish from our shelves. Recent years have seen a steep and disturbing global decline in bee populations — some bee species are already extinct and some US species are at just 4% of their previous numbers. Scientists have been scrambling for answers. Some studies claim the decline may be due to a combination of factors including disease, habitat loss and toxic chemicals. But increasingly, independent research has produced strong evidence blaming neonicotinoid pesticides. France, Italy, Slovenia and even Germany, where the main manufacturer Bayer is based, have banned one of these bee killers. But, Bayer continues to export its poison across the world.

This issue is now coming to the boil as major new studies have confirmed the scale of this problem. If we can get Bayer shareholders to act, we could shut down once and for all Bayer’s influence on policy-makers and scientists. The real experts – the beekeepers and farmers – want these deadly pesticides prohibited until and unless we have solid, independent studies that show they are safe. Let’s support them now.

Sign the urgent petition to Bayer shareholders now http://www.avaaz.org/en/bayer_save_the_bees/?vl

We can no longer leave our delicate food chain in the hands of research run by the chemical companies and the regulators that are in their pockets. Banning this pesticide will move us closer to a world safe for ourselves and the other species we care about and depend on.

With hope,Alice, Antonia, Mia, Luis, Ricken, Stephanie, Pascal, Iain, Ari and the whole Avaaz team

 

MORE INFORMATION

Studies fault Bayer in bee die-off (Christian Science Monitor)

2 Studies Point to Common Pesticide as a Culprit in Declining Bee Colonies (New York Times)

Leaked document shows EPA allowed bee-toxic pesticide despite own scientists’ red flags (Grist)

Bayer’s Annual Stockholder’s Meeting (ASM website)

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10 Comments

  1. If Bayer get a grip and realise how serious this is, and stop production, they will hopefully recover.
    Read somewhere though that a lot of bees were getting lost, and were unable to find the hive, and that their homing ability, like birds, and fish might be dependant on Earths magnetic field. But this might only have been a symptom,of side effect, of this pesticide.

  2. If Bayer get a grip and realise how serious this is, and stop production, they will hopefully recover.
    Read somewhere though that a lot of bees were getting lost, and were unable to find the hive, and that their homing ability, like birds, and fish might be dependant on Earths magnetic field. But this may just have been a symptom of this pesticide.

  3. I think it was ironic that the one advertisment right under the heading was b=for a Brisbane pest control company 🙁 Thought I share this as it really just made me sit back…

  4. Good stuff! (although, I clicked to sign the petition and all sorts of weird stuff happened–did Google go down, or is the link infected??? Lost my 1st comment, too…)

    Anyway… two things–1st, I organic-gardened in Alta for the prev 5years, and the decline of pollinators was noticeable, and terrifying… citywide, not just me…

    And–while bees are cute&cuddly, will someone please think of the moths? While some are indeed harmful (cabbage, cloth) most are excellent pollinators, they just work the night-shift…

    The gardners best pesticide: pick ’em off, squash ’em up, mix the goosh in warm water, filter out the bits and spray on. Works great! (‘cept for them damn slug…;)

    Save the bees! (and all our other little friends); and, they’ll buy us dinner!!!

    Thanks, guys!

    G.

  5. bees are not dying in Canada they are doing just fine. Check out my bee video on youtube airnation1
    the problem is that people are using pesticide to grow their garden therefore killing the bees as well stop the pesticides and all the chemicals and your bees will be byzzing around you.

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