Bee Action vs Big Business
Members like you are making a big difference for bees!
How
Illustrated by Maki Naro Friends of the Earth | November 2022
Hi there! I’m a bumblebee, and I’m here to show you how Friends of the Earth Members like you have made a difference for me and my buddies.
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Bees are responsible for one in every three bites of your food.
Did you know that the female Southeastern blueberry bee visits about 50,000 flowers, resulting in over 6,000 blueberries?!
But times are tough for bees. Scientists say we’re in an “insect apocalypse,” with 40% of invertebrate pollinators, including bees (and butterflies!), on the brink of extinction.
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Why is this happening? Well, bees face lots of threats, from a changing climate to pests and diseases. But toxic pesticides made by greedy Big Ag companies are making things even worse!
These pesticides are called neonicotinoids, or neonics. Neonics can kill us immediately or slowly, by making it harder for us to find food, reproduce and fight off diseases and pests.
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We thought all hope was lost, but Friends of the Earth rallied bee-lovers like you to launch the Bee Action campaign to get rid of neonics and other bee-toxic pesticides.
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Our first target was garden retailers. Tens of thousands of people like you talked with store managers, signed petitions and donated to help Friends of the Earth fight this battle.
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8 Your pressure led retailers including Home Depot and Lowe’s to commit to eliminate neonics. Over 75% of the garden industry has now shifted away from these toxic pesticides!
9 Grocery retailers are among the biggest buyers of food produced with toxic pesticides. Your gifts funded Friends of the Earth’s Bee-Friendly Retailer Scorecard, ranking stores on their work to protect pollinators from pesticides.
Kroger, the country’s largest grocery company, earned a dismal D- on the scorecard. So you swarmed to stores and made calls to demand Kroger and other retailers take action.
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11 Your pressure convinced 12 of the top 25 retailers, including Walmart and Costco, to create pollinator protection policies! And you’re still fighting to make sure Kroger strengthens its commitment to bees.
12 We bees are so happy for your support. But there’s still more to do to secure our future. Please sign the enclosed petition asking the EPA to permanently ban neonics. And if you are able, please donate to Friends of the Earth!
Save our Pollinators Our work continues, but we need your support to step up our efforts to save our pollinators and our planet. MakeyourgifttoFriendsoftheEarthtodayby visitingfoe.org/fight-for-bees. Friends of the Earth | November 2022
