Each winter, billions of honeybees are prematurely woken
from hibernation, trucked into California and exposed to a “soup” of
bacteria, parasites and toxic pesticides -- so they can
serve as pollinators for the fast-growing almond milk
industry.
They end up sick and exhausted, and many
don’t make it back. Every year, up to 30 percent die.
Our fragile bees deserve better -- and almond milk
drinkers deserve a truly animal-friendly product.
The good news is there are ways to grow
almonds that don’t kill or harm bees. But Blue
Diamond (maker of Almond Breeze), the number-one almond milk brand
in the world, won't commit to using 100 percent bee-friendly
almonds. Danone, maker of Silk and Alpro, says it's aiming
for bee-friendly certification, but has yet to commit to a concrete
timeline for a complete transition.
We’ve got to use public pressure to get almond milk
corporations in the bees' corner -- before it’s too
late.
Add
your name to demand bee-friendly almond milk!
Almond milk is the world’s most popular plant
milk, outselling alternatives like soy, coconut and oat
milk nearly five to one. And the vast majority of almonds that go
into it come from pesticide-soaked monocultures in
California’s Central Valley.
Almond milk
corporations are reaping billions in profits from consumers
who care about the environment. They should be doing
everything they can to make their product sustainable, not
cutting corners with megafarms that take their bees for
granted (on top of overtapping California's limited water supply).
That’s why bee experts have explained
exactly how almond farms can create a healthier habitat for
bees. And if enough of us come together, we can make sure
every almond milk maker gets on board.
Blue Diamond,
Danone and others are scrambling to protect their products’
wholesome image after January’s Guardian exposé on
bees and almond milk. Now is the perfect time to push for a
bee-saving almond revolution!
Our research suggests that brands are
making some progress: Alpro sources almonds from
bee-friendlier habitats in the Mediterranean where it's piloted
conservation schemes, while Silk has worked to increase biodiversity
on some California farms. But neither parent company
Danone, nor competitor Blue Diamond (which lags further behind),
have committed to a total supply chain revamp, let alone a
concrete timeline for using only almonds from bee-friendly certified
orchards.
Demand
these plant milk corps use only bee-friendly almonds.
Bees go through so much to bring us the food we eat every day.
It’s only right that we give something back. And again and
again, SumOfUs members like you have come to the bees’ aid when they
needed you. You’ve pushed for bans on some of the deadliest
bee-killing pesticides, and forced governments in Europe and Canada
to pass laws protecting bees’ health over Bayer and Syngenta’s
profits.
I know with your help, we can turn almond
milk into a dairy alternative that's good for all
animals -- bees included.
