UPDATE, July 2017: The battle is still on -- but we won a fight! A majority of EU parliamentarians in the environment committee sided with the bees on June 22nd. We stopped Big Pesticides and their friends in politics from killing a game-changing ban on bee-killing pesticides in its tracks! And the SumOfUs community helped make it happen. Thanks to everyone who chipped in to fund ads targeting parliamentarians ahead of the vote!
UPDATE, June 2017: The battle is on: A historic ban on bee-killing pesticides is on the table. But we’ve just learned that politicians in the European Parliament will try to stop it -- before member states even get the chance to vote!
They are planning to have their committee colleagues vote against the ban on June 22nd. Let's show them the broad public support for the ban proposal -- and convince them to side with the bees and not corporate giants!
We’re closer than ever to a game-changing neonics ban that would help to keep Europe’s bees safe from these dangerous pesticides.
Earlier this year, the European Commission issued a proposal to national governments that could determine the future of three neonics in Europe -- three widely used pesticides that are toxic to bees. The leaked proposal reveals that an almost complete ban could be in place as early as this year -- if approved by a majority of EU member states.
All of us depend on the countless food crops bees pollinate. With bee colonies across the world collapsing, a neonics ban is huge news!
But the pesticide lobby is already gearing up to stop the groundbreaking ban. That’s why we need a massive, people-powered push to make sure EU member states side with the bees -- and all of us -- over corporate giants like Bayer and Syngenta.
The EU proposal is a crucial follow up to the partial ban on the use of three widespread neonicotinoids on certain crops adopted in 2013. Four years later, it’s even harder to ignore the scientific consensus that neonics used on crops are harming the bees that pollinate them. And the European Food Safety Authority has acknowledged that too.
The proposal far from being perfect -- it allows the banned neonics to be used in greenhouses -- is a huge step towards a future free of bee-killing pesticides. And you can help make this happen!
Governments are expected to position themselves in mid-May, which means we don’t have much time left to make our voices heard.
With the pesticide industry poised to fight this proposal tooth and nail, it’s crucial our governments are hearing from us.
Together we’ve made huge strides towards ridding the world of neonic pesticides. Canada is considering a ban on one of the industry’s most popular neonicotinoids, and France is poised to institute a total ban by 2018. But in order to ensure a liveable future for the bees -- and all of us -- we need to come together now to push for a total ban of bee-killing neonics in Europe.
More information
Politico. 22 March 2017.
The Guardian. 23 March 2017.
