October 2016
A MESSAGE FROM GREENPEACE
Big news: Greenpeace investigators have discovered unpublished pesticide-company studies showing that their controversial ‘neonic’ pesticides can seriously harm bees. [1]
Now more than ever, we need to ban these bee-harming pesticides for good. Can you help?
The research was designed to find a ‘safe level’ for the pesticides, and although the companies shared their findings with regulators in the US, they haven’t published them. And in public, Bayer and Syngenta have always downplayed the idea that their products are harmful. [2]
Right now, neonic pesticides are banned for some uses by a temporary European law. But with the law up for review and Britain preparing to exit the EU, our bees could be left unprotected – and at the mercy of pesticide company lobbying. [3]
We can’t let that happen. The survival of our bees is too important to be hidden behind private studies and closed doors.
Let’s stand up for Britain’s bees and lock in a permanent, Brexit-proof ban.
A British ban wouldn’t just help bees in the UK – it might even force companies like Bayer and Syngenta to find better alternatives to these pesticides, rather than downplaying research findings and lobbying to protect their profits.
The key player here is Lord Gardiner of Kimble – the minister responsible for putting the government’s bee-protecting ambitions into practice. [4]
Gardiner is still quite new in this role, but we know that when it comes to protecting nature, this government can be swayed by public pressure.
A few weeks ago, they made the first moves towards banning plastic microbeads from cosmetics, after more than 300,000 of us campaigned against them. [5]
And earlier this year, they stood firm when farmers asked them to relax the temporary ban on neonics. [6]
We’re sending the government a powerful message: it’s time to ban these bee-harming pesticides for good. Will you add your voice?
Thanks for being a part of this,
Mal
Notes
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/22/pesticide-manufacturers-own-tests-reveal-serious-harm-to-honeybees
[2] http://energydesk.greenpeace.org/2016/09/22/neonicotinoids-bayer-syngenta-bees/
[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/the-latest-brexit-buzz-is-about-the-fate-of-englands-honeybees/2016/08/18/287afa3e-5e47-11e6-9d2f-b1a3564181a1_story.html
[4] https://www.gov.uk/government/people/lord-gardiner-of-kimble
[5] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37263087
[6] http://www.fwi.co.uk/news/defra-rejects-nfu-application-to-use-neonicotinoids-on-osr.htm
