38 Degrees members in the news

Bees a crucial to life on earth and more than half a million 38 Degrees members have been part of the campaign to stop bee-killing pesticides being allowed back on our fields.

Despite a Europe wide ban on a very dangerous type of pesticide called ‘neonics’ our Environment minister Liz Truss caved to lobbying from pesticide giants Bayer and Syngenta and at the end of July announced that these bee-killing pesticides will be allowed back on to UK fields in 4 counties. [1]

As soon as this news was announced, 38 Degrees members across these 4 counties – Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Suffolk – sprung into action. Emailing and calling their local MPs to express their outrage and writing to local newspaper to make sure that everyone knows of the government’s bee-harming decision.

Here’s some of the quotes from 38 Degrees members that got published in their local paper:

Diane Whiskin, from Redbourn: “Are your readers aware that the government is planning to allow pesticides that are harmful to bees to be used in Hertfordshire despite the fact that a record rape seed harvest is expected this year without the use of these pesticides?

“This short-sighted policy could devastate the bee population. Fewer bees means fewer insects to pollinate our crops. We need to lobby government to overturn this policy before it is too late.”

Sharon Hollingworth, of Marshalswick Lane: “Can you please bring to the attention of your readers the very dangerous situation our county is in by the reckless decision of the environment minister Liz Truss to allow the use of bee-killing pesticides in Hertfordshire?”

Zara-Jane Gordon, from Sandridge: “We need bees to survive and we need to protect them, not allow chemical companies to produce neonicotinoids to destroy them. They’re an integral part of our environment.”

Alan Simmons, of St Albans: “The decline of all our wildlife species is tragic. Bees, in particular, are a vital part of our ecosystem – not to mention our economy.”

Want to contact your local media about this issue? Follow this link to email your local paper: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/emergency-bee-tell-the-press

[1] The Guardian: Bee-hamring pesticide firms took part in key meeting on the ban: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/29/bee-harming-pesticide-firms-took-part-key-meeting-ban