Bees and other pollinators are under attack

Bees and other pollinators are essential to our food supply, pollinating one out of every three bites. They are also essential to our planet’s ecosystems. Unfortunately, bees are dying at an alarming rate. For two years in a row, beekeepers have reported the second-highest annual losses of their honeybee colonies. These are some of the worst years on record for honeybee losses. Additionally, 40% of wild invertebrate pollinators are at risk of extinction.

Wondering how to help honey bees and other pollinators? At Friends of the Earth, we are working hard to shift away from a key contributor to declines of bees and other pollinators — toxic pesticides. If we don’t get these chemicals out of our food system, many of our pollinators could disappear forever. 

Bayer is among the largest producers of pollinator-toxic neonicotinoid pesticides. Unfortunately, Bayer and other pesticide giants are using misleading PR tactics to divert the public’s attention away from their contributions to the pollinator crisis.

We are exposing the bee-washing efforts of pesticide companies like Bayer. Join our save the bees organization’s fight to stop the pesticide industry from delaying essential action to protect pollinators.

How to save the bees? An important first step: Bayer must stop selling toxic neonicotinoid pesticides!

Bayer is working hard to create an image that it cares for the environment. Its “Bee Care” website, filled with imagery of healthy bees pollinating flowers, along with other deceptive PR spin tactics, is aimed at distracting policymakers, the press and the public from its contribution to the pollinator crisis. But we know that’s not how to save bees. If Bayer “cared” about bees, it would stop selling bee-toxic pesticides.

Core to this strategy is pushing the message that other factors — aside from its pesticides — are driving rapid bee declines. It’s funded research that claims varroa mites and habitat loss are responsible for bee die-offs, while leaving out pesticides entirely. It opened a “Bee Care Center” and even created a children’s book and curriculum for schools — all pointing attention away from its toxic products.

But Bayer’s massive spin machine is desperately trying to mask the cold, hard truth – Bayer is not a steward of bees. While pretending to care, it has worked to distract our attention and deny the overwhelming science pointing to neonicotinoids as one of the key drivers of the decline of bees and countless other species on the brink of extinction. This strategy isn’t new — it’s been used by the tobacco and fossil fuel industries to deny clear science implicating their harmful products so they can keep raking in profits, no matter the cost to people and the planet. 

Bayer needs to stop deceptive marketing to distract from its contribution to bee-declines.

Bayer’s website says: “Bees and other pollinators are facing some key challenges in much of our modern world. Protecting them is a shared responsibility for us all, and this includes the crop protection industry.”

The words from Bayer’s own website acknowledge the problem. It is time for the company to do its part to save bees and stop selling bee-killing pesticides.

Bayer is making  over a billion in profits each year selling these toxic pesticides. So it’s going to take a groundswell of grassroots pressure from people like you to convince the company to change its ways. But together, we can push the pesticide giant to stop contributing to devastating bee declines.

Bayer must stop selling neonicotinoids and protect the bees.

How to save bees from dying

Wondering how you can play an active role? Friends of the Earth needs people like you to join us on our fight to hold Bayer and other pesticide industry giants accountable. 

If you’re curious about how to save the bees and other pollinators, consider doing one (or more) of the following:

Join our email program to stay up to date on the latest petitions to help save the bees!
Bayer isn’t the only bad actor — we’ll need a groundswell of support from activists like you!

Make a donation!
We cannot win this fight without the generosity of others.

Hit Bayer where it hurts the most — its pockets.
Stop purchasing products made by Bayer

Together we can fight the biggest threats to bees and other pollinators. But we cannot do it alone.