BLACK EMERGENCY MANAGERS ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL: Food Security: BAN BEE-Killing. March 2021

Protect Our Bees and Our Food Supply From a Chemical Onslaught!

Bees and other pollinators are dying at an alarming rate, in large part due to a deluge of toxic neonic pesticides pushed by agrochemical giants.

Send a message to President Biden’s EPA urging them to follow the science and crackdown on bee-killing neonics to protect the future of our food supply before it’s too late.

Dear Charles,

Bees and other pollinators are in a death spiral — and that spells trouble for us all.

A whopping 43 percent of the nation's honeybee colonies were lost over the past year — the second-highest loss ever recorded. And the 4,000-plus species of wild bees nationwide aren't faring much better.

Scientists pin much of the blame on the torrent of bee-toxic pesticides, called neonics, that giant agrochemical corporations like Bayer — backed by the might of their Washington lobbying machine — have been allowed to unleash, virtually unchecked.

One out of every three bites of food — fruits, vegetables, and nuts — depends on bees and other pollinators. This devastating decline in bees could mean increased food prices, reduced access to healthier foods, and food scarcity that will hit low-income communities and communities of color especially hard.

But there's hope yet: President Biden has promised to restore science to its rightful role in protecting our environment and health. And if you follow the science on toxic, bee-killing neonic pesticides — it is clear they must be banned.

The EPA is currently reviewing the dangers of neonic pesticides, and they won't be required to review these bee-toxic chemicals again for another 15 years. That means we must do everything we can NOW to get the EPA to ban bee-killing uses of neonics — and that starts with your signature right now.

Sign the petition and send your message to new EPA Administrator Michael Regan urging him to take swift, decisive action to ban bee-killing uses of neonic pesticides.

NRDC has been leading the charge to win life-saving protections for bees and other pollinators. And the Biden administration's commitment to environmental protection has brought a welcome wave of relief and optimism. Now, we need to build a groundswell of public pressure — and courtroom action — to put an end to Big Ag's outsized influence in Washington once and for all.

During this terrible pandemic, when many families have been struggling to put food on the table, it is more important than ever to protect the future of our food supply. It's time for the EPA to do its part by protecting these critical pollinators and standing up for people over pesticide industry profits.

This may be our best — and last! — chance to protect our bees and other pollinators, and we need all hands on deck: Charles, will you join us? Your signature today can mean a more secure food supply and healthier ecosystems in the future — so please sign now!

NRDC is no stranger to using the courts to protect pollinators. Earlier this year, we scored a major legal victory against the Trump administration requiring the EPA to start analyzing the effects of imidacloprid, one of the most widely used neonics on endangered and threatened species.

Now we are counting on the new administration to stop this runaway pesticide use that's killing our bees and is a threat to the future of our food supplies. And NRDC is ready to use all the tools at our disposal — from generating a massive public outcry to racing to court, and everything in-between — to help make sure that happens.

Charles, quickly send a message to the EPA and join the fight against Big Ag to put an end to rampant neonic use!

The months ahead could decide the long-term fate of bees and other struggling pollinators. There's too much at risk for us to do nothing:

Fewer bees = less food. There are now barely enough bees available each year to pollinate key food crops. And that's only thanks to the tireless efforts of beekeepers to replace lost hives ...
The deluge of neonics is a leading cause of bee deaths. Acute exposure to neonics can kill bees directly and chronic exposure weakens these critical pollinators — making it harder for them to forage for food, find their way back to their hive, combat parasites and disease, and survive winter ...
Exposure to neonics is risky business for our health. Federally funded research suggests there may be links between neonic exposure and malformations of the developing heart and brain ...
Scientists have been ringing alarm bells. Drastic declines in pollinators like honeybees, wild bees, butterflies, and songbirds have been linked to rampant neonic use. As pollinator populations have plummeted, neonic sales have soared and are now the most heavily used class of insecticides in the United States ...