bees

Bees are an economic engine. At least that’s what I’d call something experts say is worth about $15 billion to our economy every year.

Last month at our annual convention, the California State Grange took a hard look at the issue of pollinators; their value, and the fact that today they are under threat. Last week, we followed up with a clear message for policymakers: Farm communities can't survive without bees. Let's protect our pollinators from pesticides. Today.

New science confirms that honey bees are at great risk when simultaneously exposed to parasites and pesticides.

Two pesticides of concern, fipronil and thiacloprid (a neonicotinoid), operate in combination with a common pathogen to dramatically increase bee death. And they do so at very low, sub-lethal levels.

This Sunday is World Food Day. It is a day to renew our commitment to ending the root causes of hunger.

It is also an opportunity to highlight the true costs of pesticide-dependent agriculture, and the corporate-controlled food system that goes with it. At PAN we're doing two things: celebrating bees and berating the Big 6. Join us!

Help start a national conversation on pesticides and bees by spreading the word about this hard-hitting, in-depth investigative report.

Dan Rather's investigative reporting team has produced a follow-up to their 2006 inquiry into Colony Collapse Disorder. Five years later, the situation remains substantively unaddressed by EPA.

Honey bees are still dying off at an average rate of 34% year, and the millions of dollars Congress set aside to investigate the issue has yielded no actionable findings for the federal agencies charged with stemming the tide of honey bee decline. 

I have never been an organizer.  Tell me where the march is, and I’ll show up if I can.   

But several months ago I got an e-mail forward from Graham White, a beekeeper in Scotland. It said something to the effect of: “Hey beekeepers, picture this: a flash mob for the bees!”