Beekeepers take on Bayer and Syngenta
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- Published on Friday, 10 October 2014 16:20
- Written by editor
Bayer and Syngenta have been pushing their bee-killing pesticides for too long. But now beekeepers are fighting back. They’ve just launched a class action lawsuit in Canada to get bee killing pesticides banned once and for all.
Can you chip in CA$10 to organize beekeepers and gardeners to speak out for a ban on bee-killing pesticides?
Bees across Canada have been dying by the millions.
But now, beekeepers in Canada's biggest province are on the cusp of banning bee-killing pesticides once and for all.
They've filed a class-action lawsuit against the pesticide companies, and if they win, it could trigger a huge domino effect towards a global ban on these bee killers.
You better believe pesticide giants Bayer and Syngenta aren’t going to take this lying down. They’ll be throwing the kitchen sink at Ontario’s legislators to make sure they can keep selling their colony-destroying neonictinoid pesticides.
Will you support the beekeepers’ fight and keep fighting to get bee killing pesticides banned?
Study after study shows what beekeepers already know: Right around the world, bees are dying off and the situation seems to be getting worse. “Neonic” pesticides manufactured by Bayer, Syngenta, and others are undoubtedly the culprit. But to get them banned, we're going up against two companies prepared to spend millions to get their way.
Already, the SumOfUs campaign to save the bees in causing huge waves. Earlier this month, a landmark new study from SumOfUs, Friends of the Earth and our allies found that half of all "bee friendly" garden plants sold by big gardening stores come pre-treated with bee-killing pesticides. In response, huge retailer Home Depot pledged to label all products containing these pesticides this year, and figure out how it can eliminate them for good -- not enough, but a start.
Our activist beekeepers and campaigners have spoken out at the annual shareholder meetings of Lowe's and Bayer, talking directly to CEOs and shareholders about the need to act, and keeping up the pressure. And our lawyers are still working to defend Europe's ban on some of these poisons in the courts in the face of Bayer's legal challenge.
But government action has stalled in the face of aggressive action from pesticide companies. That's why it's so important that we fight alongside beekeepers in Canada -- it could kick start a push to regulate these dangerous pesticides globally. Will you support Ontario’s beekeepers in their fight?
Yes, I'll chip in CA$10 to support the beekeepers' fight to get neonics banned.
Thanks for all you do,
Paul, Jon and the team at SumOfUs
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More information:
Canadian beekeepers sue Bayer and Syngenta over neonicotinoid pesticides, CBC, 3 Sep 2014
