Target: CEO of Scotts-Miracle Gro James Hagedorn
Goal: Praise garden-care giant Ortho for eliminating pesticides that pose a severe threat to bee populations.
A leading brand of insect control products, Ortho, announced recently that it will eliminate all bee-killing pesticides from its products by 2017. Environmental activists have taken note of the vanishing bee populations and have been fighting to save them, with petitions like this one published on ForceChange. Now, Ortho and its parent company, Scotts-Miracle Gro, have promised to eliminate products that are not bee-friendly, and have formed a partnership with the Pollinator Stewardship Council, one of the country’s leading advocacy organizations for bees and other pollinators.
Bees play a vital role in our agricultural system. Without bees, we wouldn’t have about 80 percent of the food sold in our super market. Nicotine-based pesticides called neonicotinoids threaten bee populations all over the world. In some places, as many as 60 percent of bee colonies have vanished. If we do not take action to save the bees, we will not be able to grow a sufficient food supply to feed the world.
Scotts-Miracle Gro has taken a huge step to protect bee populations. As an industry leader, they have set an example which other companies will hopefully follow. Sign the petition below to thank Scotts-Miracle Gro for helping to save the bees.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Mr. Hagedorn,
I want to thank you for eliminating all bee-killing pesticides from Ortho products by next year, and for forming a partnership with the Pollinator Stewardship Council. Bee populations have been declining, and experts think they are under severe threat. Bees are responsible for pollinating about 80 percent of our food, and if their survival is in jeopardy, our survival is in jeopardy.
Neonicotinoid pesticides are one of the reasons that bee populations have been declining. Your decision to eliminate these pesticides from your products shows that you prioritize the health of the environment over the profits of your company. You recognize that we cannot continue to pollute our environment as we have been doing, because the consequences are real and immediate.
Thank you for taking action to save the bees. As an industry leader, you are setting a great example for other companies. I hope you will continue to make these environmentally responsible choices in the future.
Sincerely,
Your Name Here
Photo credit: Christine Majul
Thank you from the planet!
Thank you so much and our food supply that depends on bees pollination will remain.
Signed & Shared.
Thank you