Beekeepers And Concerned Citizens To Rally In Front Of Environmental Protection Agency With 2.64 Million Dead Bees

The farmers, farmworkers, beekeepers and other food advocates are planning to assemble in front of the Environmental Protection Agency with 2.64 million dead bees. They aim to raise awareness and to take action on toxic pesticides and support the sustainable agriculture.

Larissa Walker, the pollinator program director at the Center for Food Safety stated that millions of dead bees that have accompanied them during the Keep the Hives Alive Tour are carrying a message--this is just a tiny fraction of the devastation beekeepers are dealing with year after year. She further said that it's well past time for policymakers to wake up and take action to stop the use of the toxic pesticides that are harming pollinators, people and the environment.

The advocates together with the Keep the Hives Alive Tour will rally in front of EPA headquarters to convey millions of petition signatures urging for immediate action this week. The Center for Food Safety also participated in a national tour to raise awareness on pollinator declines and take action on the use of toxic pesticides.

Walker said that this week and every week people should be doing everything they can do to protect bees and other pollinators that are critical to the health and the health of food system and the environment. She added that more than a third of the food is dependent on pollinators and they cannot afford to let their catastrophic declines continue to go unchecked.

It is reported that beekeepers lost 44 percent of their colonies between April 2015 and April 2016. The pesticides also referred to as neonicotinoids have in recent years become the main focus of bee preservation efforts. The bee rally is organized by the Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Food Safety, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Friends of the Earth and others.