Demanding Ban on Deadly Pesticides, Advocates Drop Millions of Dead Bees on EPA Doorstep

Advocating for a ban on toxic pesticides that have led to massive bee die-offs nationwide, a truck filled with millions of the dead pollinators has trundled across the country to reach its final destination on Wednesday afternoon: the front steps of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“If we stop keeping bees, who’s going to pollinate your fruits and vegetables? This can’t go on.”
—Roger Williams,
Central Maryland Beekeepers Association

The truck’s arrival at EPA headquarters heralds a rally in which environmental groups, beekeepers, organic food advocates and others will “deliver over 4 million signatures urging an immediate ban on bee-killing pesticides” to the agency, writes the conservation group Friends of the Earth.

“Bees pollinate most of the world’s most common crops, including summer favorites like peaches and watermelon,” said Environment America in a press statement. “But over 40 percent of U.S. honeybee hives die each year, costing the farming and beekeeping industry more than $2 billion annually.”

As Scott Nash, CEO of Mom’s Organic, said in a statement, “What’s happening today to pollinators is no different than what happened 50 years ago with the collapse of the osprey, bald eagle, and other bird and aquatic animal populations due to the use of DDT. If we allow the chemical agribusiness industry to continue these short-sighted practices, food costs will increase as food supplies diminish.”

“In the five years since I started keeping bees, I’ve seen many hives killed by pesticides,” added James Cook, a Minnesota-based beekeeper who has been driving the truck across the country since last Monday. “If some fundamental things don’t change, it’s going to be really hard for beekeepers to adapt to the environment around us.”