24 hours to save the bees!

I received the following email from Avaaz.org.

Avaaz is a great online petition site with great records of success. It is great they have

taken on this environmental and animal rights issue.

Please take a couple of minutes to inform yourself about this issue and sign the petition.

Fruit-eaters everywhere, please remember the importance of bees!

We owe it to the bees to ensure their survival!

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Quietly, globally, billions of bees are dying, threatening our crops and food. But if Bayer

stops selling one group of pesticides, we could save bees from extinction.

Four European countries have begun banning these poisons, and some bee populations

are already recovering. But Bayer, the largest producer of neonicotinoids, has lobbied

hard to keep them on the market. Now, massive global pressure from Avaaz and others

has forced them to consider the facts -- and in 24 hours, Bayer shareholders will vote

on a motion that could stop these toxic chemicals. Let’s all act now and shame the

shareholders to stop killing bees.

The pressure is working, and this is our best chance to save the bees. Sign the urgent

petition and send this to everyone -- let's reach half a million signers and deliver it

directly to shareholders tomorrow in Germany!

http://www.avaaz.org/en/bayer_save_the_bees_db/?cl=1763418060&a...

Bees don't just make honey, they are vital to life on earth, every year pollinating 90%

of plants and crops -- with an estimated $40bn value, over one-third of the food supply

in many countries. Without immediate action to save bees, many of our favourite fruits,

vegetables, and nuts could vanish from our shelves.

Recent years have seen a steep and disturbing global decline in bee populations -- some

bee species are already extinct and some US species are at just 4% of their previous

numbers. Scientists have been scrambling for answers. Some studies claim the decline

may be due to a combination of factors including disease, habitat loss and toxic

chemicals. But increasingly, independent research has produced strong evidence

blaming neonicotinoid pesticides. France, Italy, Slovenia and even Germany, where the

main manufacturer Bayer is based, have banned one of these bee killers. But, Bayer

continues to export its poison across the world.

This issue is now coming to the boil as major new studies have confirmed the scale of

this problem. If we can get Bayer shareholders to act, we could shut down once and for

all Bayer’s influence on policy-makers and scientists. The real experts -- the beekeepers

and farmers -- want these deadly pesticides prohibited until and unless we have solid,

independent studies that show they are safe. Let's support them now. Sign the urgent

petition to Bayer shareholders now, then forward this email:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/bayer_save_the_bees_db/?cl=1763418060&a...

We can no longer leave our delicate food chain in the hands of research run by the

chemical companies and the regulators that are in their pockets. Banning this pesticide

will move us closer to a world safe for ourselves and the other species we care about

and depend on.

With hope, Alice, Antonia, Mia, Luis, Ricken, Stephanie, Pascal, Iain, Ari and the whole

Avaaz team

MORE INFORMATION

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0406/Studies-fault-Bayer-in-b...

2 Studies Point to Common Pesticide as a Culprit in Declining Bee C...

Leaked document shows EPA allowed bee-toxic pesticide despite own s...

Bayer’s Annual Stockholder’s Meeting (ASM website)