The dominoes are starting to fall. Aldi Süd, the German-based grocer, has just banned vegetables treated with bee-killing pesticides from its supermarkets.
Aldi is the 12th-largest distributor in Europe and its ban of eight different neonic pesticides undeniably linked to global declines of bee and butterfly populations is a massive challenge to every supermarket chain in Europe. Will Aldi's competitors join the fight to save the bees?
We think they will. That's why we're targeting Aldi's compatriot chain, Lidl. Make no mistake: Aldi isn't doing this out of the goodness of its heart. This change is the direct result of pressure from millions of people all over the world. Let's keep the momentum up.
Lidl, you're next. Join Aldi and ban produce treated with bee-killing pesticides from your shops.
Aldi's decision could be the wedge we need to change things all over Europe. We've already stopped huge American hardware chains from selling bee-killing neonic pesticides, but agrochemical giants like Bayer and Syngenta have been working around the clock to overturn the EU's neonicotinoid ban -- that's one of the reasons the UK allowed testing of the pesticide this past fall for the first time since 2013.
The science is clear -- neonicotinoids kill bees and other pollinators critical to 30% of the world's food supply. We'll continue to defend the EU law prohibiting bee-killing pesticides and work toward a global neonic ban. But getting supermarkets to stop selling the toxins will pull the rug right out from under Bayer's feet: if there's no one to sell your pesticide to, there's no margin in working to undo the ban.
Tell Lidl you want it to save the bees. Ban neonic-treated produce now.
**********
More information:
Aldi Süd bans bee-harming pesticides, Greenpeace, 18 Jan 2016
EU scientists begin review of ban on pesticides linked to bee declines, The Guardian, 7 Jan 2016