Dear John,
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Bees need you: Donate now and save critical pollinators from toxic pesticides!
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40 percent of bees and other pollinators are on the brink of extinction, but we still have a chance to save them. This week, Giant Eagle -- a major food retailer -- committed to eliminate bee-toxic neonic pesticides in its produce supply chain!
This is great news, but other grocery giants need to follow suit soon to help turn around this crisis. We need to act fast to save the bees. Take action with a $10 donation to Friends of the Earth.
Bees are the canaries in the coal mine -- their deaths warn us that the way we’re growing food is driving us toward ecological disaster. Pesticides are a key culprit in the decline of bees, butterflies and other pollinators, leading many scientists to warn of a “second Silent Spring” and the potential for ecosystem collapse if we don’t change the way we farm. The loss of bees is already causing shortages in key food crops, and we need your help, John, to stop it.
We can and must avert this extinction of our critical pollinators. Rush a $10 donation to Friends of the Earth and help save bees from toxic pesticides.
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Not long ago, the Western bumblebee was one of the most widespread bee species in the country, ranging from New Mexico’s deserts to the Alaskan tundra. Today, this once-common pollinator is fighting for survival.
These delightful creatures are among our most important pollinators. Did you know bumblebees pollinate a wider variety of plants than many other bees? They cover more ground, and can fly at lower altitudes and at cooler temperatures, further diversifying their “pollinator portfolio.”
They also pollinate with a special technique known as “buzz pollinating.” They vibrate their wings at such high speeds that more pollen is dislodged, from different parts of the flower -- allowing them to pollinate more effectively than other bees.
Many important bumblebee species are declining -- and toxic pesticides produced by companies like Bayer-Monsanto are a key driver. We need your help to get these pesticides out of our food system and save the bees.
Stand up to Bayer-Monsanto and save the bees: Donate $10 before it’s too late!
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At Friends of the Earth, we are working tirelessly to save bees from toxic pesticides. Just last week, Giant Eagle made the strongest commitment of any U.S. food retailer to eliminate pollinator-toxic neonics in its produce supply chain! This is big progress, but the truth is, other big retailers must follow suit if we want to protect our pollinators.
Now, we need Kroger, the largest traditional grocery chain in the U.S., to step up and do its part. Kroger got a “D” in Friends of the Earth's new Bee-Friendly Retailer Scorecard, which grades retailers on how well they protect pollinators from toxic pesticides in supply chains.
Thanks to pressure from members like you, Kroger has taken important steps in the right direction. Kroger is now one of six grocery retailers with a pollinator health policy, along with Costco, Albertsons, Giant Eagle, Aldi and Rite Aid. These companies have acknowledged that pollinators must be protected. Their policies encourage farmers to move away from using toxic pesticides towards alternative pest management. They also state the companies’ commitment to expand organic offerings. These are important first steps. But so far, only Giant Eagle’s policy includes a measurable commitment to reduce use of pollinator-toxic pesticides in its food supply chain.
We know Kroger can do better.
At Friends of the Earth, we are committed to making sure Kroger and other food retail giants do the right thing and make strong, time-bound commitments to eliminate bee-toxic pesticides from their supply chains.
The bee crisis requires action, not just aspiration -- and we have a bold, multifaceted plan to meet this moment.
Please chip in now to support the urgent work to phase out pesticides. Donate $10 or more to Friends of the Earth today.
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Scientists warn that the biodiversity crisis we face is on par with the climate crisis. From bees, to butterflies, to children, to farmworkers and rural communities, we’re feeling the impact of toxic pesticides on our environment and our health. We need to get these poisons out of our food system and out of our environment.
While other governments have followed the science and banned key pollinator-toxic pesticides, the U.S. government is expanding use of pesticides that kill bees and harm human health. In the absence of federal action, grocery retailers can play a major role in moving away from pesticide-intensive industrial agriculture toward the organic and ecologically regenerative food system that we need. It is time grocery retailers step up to protect the pollinators that their supply chains, and our food supply, depend on.
We need Kroger to act. As the largest traditional grocery chain in the U.S., Kroger has the power to make our food system healthier and safer for pollinators -- and all of us. But it will take a groundswell of outrage from consumers like you, John, to pressure Kroger to improve its pollinator and pesticide policy.
It’s a daunting challenge, but Friends of the Earth has already seen successes in our multi-pronged approach to banning and shifting our food system away from toxic pesticides.
Thanks to Friends of the Earth members like you, the vast majority of the garden industry has moved away from neonics, and many major retailers have also committed to stop selling plants and products treated with neonics. We now have a leading retailer making a strong commitment to get neonics out of produce. And we’re not done yet. We’ve already secured partial commitments from Kroger, and now we are pushing them to do more. In the next few months, we are ramping up the pressure with our campaigning, and they have already heard from thousands of Friends of the Earth members, and counting.
We’ve seen time and again that when we organize, people power can force even corporate giants like Kroger to make the changes we need. This is what Friends of the Earth is built for. With your help, we will ban pollinator-toxic pesticides, save the bees and ensure a livable planet for future generations.
The Western bumblebee and other pollinators need us right now. With your support, we can hold corporations accountable and protect them for the long haul. Donate $10 to Friends of the Earth today.
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Thank you,
Lisa Archer,
Food and agriculture program director,
Friends of the Earth
