Hi John,

 

I hope this finds you well. 

 

Last week we launched a campaign to save bees from harmful pesticides. I wanted to give you another chance to sign up.

 

In just under a week over 140,000 people have signed - putting pressure on the Environment Minister to act. The minister with the power is George Eustice, so far he’s refused to rule out a total ban on bee-killing pesticides. We know that more people signing the petition will increase the pressure for him to find his voice.

 

Can you help us by adding your voice?

Thanks for all that you do,

 

Aakash

Greenpeace UK

 

PS: Here’s the email I sent you last week.

-------------------------------------------------------

Hi John,

 

The government has just given the green light for bee-killing pesticides to be used in the UK. The pesticide being used has been banned for being poisonous to bees, but it’s just been approved to help grow sugar beet in the spring. [1]

 

This is about bees, but it's also about us. If we keep harming bees, we risk our food supplies. It's estimated that a third of our food is dependent on pollinators, of which bees are some of the most important.[2] A third of bee populations are already shrinking. [3] We can’t allow pesticides to destroy our environment and kill any more bees.

 

Can you quickly sign this petition urging the Environment Secretary to enforce a total ban on bee-killing pesticides?

 “We cannot afford to put our pollinator populations at risk.” [4] These were the words of Michael Gove when he introduced the ban on bee-killing pesticides in 2018. 

 

So what’s changed since then? Well, it’s certainly not the science. Pesticides, including neonicotinoids, are still bad news for bees. Studies have shown that these pesticides can affect bees’ navigational abilities and breeding success, and they are unsurprisingly ravaging other insects as well. [5]

 

The government are now saying that their reasons for allowing emergency use is to protect growers of sugar beet. But this is a short-sighted and dangerous approach to take, especially when you consider we rely on bees to help pollinate lots of crops like apples, beans, squashes and almonds.

 

George Eustice has the power to change all of this. We have the opportunity to shift away from chemical-intensive agriculture to organic farming that protects nature. As Environment Minister, he can show he’s on the right side of protecting nature by enforcing a total ban on bee-harming pesticides. Can you get the Environment Minister to act now?

We have the power to make George Eustice act. He’s approved this emergency use of a deadly pesticide, but we need to remind him that we’re in the middle of a climate and nature emergency. 

 

We can stop this now. If lots of people sign this petition we can pile pressure on the government to quickly reverse its decision and keep bee-killing pesticides away from our environment.

 

Can you sign this petition so we can get the Environment Minister to act fast?

Thanks for all that you do, 

 

Aakash 

Greenpeace UK

 

Notes

[1] Government to let farmers use bee-killing pesticide banned in EU

[2] Would we starve without bees?

[3] A third of wild bee and hoverfly species are in decline in Britain

[4] Government breaks promise to maintain ban on bee-harming pesticide

[5] Bees 

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