For almost 15 years now, the world has watched in horror as the friendly bees that we and our environment depend on die in droves. This is a global crisis — with colony collapse disorder now ravaging their colonies, and the use of pesticides at an all time high to supply us with masses of perfect looking crops, we are at risk of losing bees forever. A world without bees is a world without life itself — they are cornerstone pollinators, and the web of life they support is extensive. And now, it is coming to light that bee-saving restrictions placed by the European Union (EU) on the use of neonicotinoids — an insecticide and aggressive bee-killer — are basically being ignored.
A moratorium on neonicotinoids was passed by the EU in 2013, but by 2018 it was clear that an outright ban was necessary. Environmentalists saw this as cause for celebration, but it was short lived. Since the moratorium took hold in 2013, over 200 authorizations for the use of these murderous pesticides were granted. That’s basically one exception to the ban being granted every two weeks. As one scientist put it, the “exception has become the rule.” Why even have these restrictions if you are not going to uphold them? That’s why we are calling on the EU to do the right thing, and put their actions where their words are. Sign the petition and demand that the EU actually uphold its ban on the use of neonicotinoids, the notorious bee killer!