British Beekeepers Association

This winter, the British Beekeepers Association recorded its worst loss in its history. In China, the situation has gotten so bad that farmers are being forced to hand-pollinate their trees. In the biggest kill yet, a large commercial beekeeper in the United States watched in helpless horror as a mind-boggling 500 million of his bees died, 80% of his entire total.

After years of research, scientists have finally figured out what’s causing the massive bee die-offs all around the world, from China to the UK: It’s a class of dangerous pesticides called neonics. And here’s the wildest thing, even though we know they're killing the bees, in most parts of the world, neonics are still in widespread use.

Neonics are made to be water-soluble, so the vast majority is washed off the seeds in the first rainstorm. Over 90% of the pesticide washes away, to end up in the soil and groundwater, where they will persist for years -- the pesticides break down incredibly slowly, so that every year the crops are sprayed again, 80% of the pesticide from the previous year is still in the soil. Over the years, the surrounding ground and water continues to get more and more toxic, to the point that the pesticide is working its way up the food chain and killing off birds.

We are reaching the point where our global ecosystem is straining, and the threat to the bees is becoming a threat to all of us. As bees die off, up to a third of the food we consume is threatened, and food prices are already being affected around the world. That’s why we have to step up now to get out the truth. Big pesticide companies may be trying to rewrite the record, but together the SumOfUs community can help cut through the noise and ensure the safety of our ecosystem for future generations.

Click Here to join with 'SumOfUs' members all over the world to crowdfund a swarm of activist beekeepers to take on the pesticide industry in Chicago.

Thank you for fighting for the bees.