The 20th of May is "World Bee Day", and what would fit better on this day than publishing an episode that matches perfectly with that topic? Sophia introduces the "Save Bees and Farmers" ECI, which was initiated in 2019 and collected more than 1,1 Million signatures. The main demand is to phase-out the use of synthetic pesticides on agricultural land in the EU. Due to the extensive use of pesticides to make our agriculture more and more efficient, biodiversity is suffering while at the same time farmers need to give up their businesses because the pressure from large agribusinesses becomes too large. The "Save Bees and Farmers" Initiative wants to change that. In this episode, we learn more about background information regarding our current system and why this ECI was started to transform it.

Shownotes:

• Save Bees and farmers - sustainable agriculture! (ouronlyhome.eu)
• Initiative detail | European Citizens' Initiative (europa.eu)
• Background – Save bees and farmers
• Europe must transition away from synthetic pesticides (friendsoftheearth.eu)
• SUD-Joint-Statement.pdf (friendsoftheearth.eu)
• Sustainable use of pesticides (europa.eu)
• Impacts of Pesticides on Wildlife — Beyond Pesticides
• Don’t leave biodiversity by the wayside – EURACTIV.com
• Drought and agriculture : A collective scientific expert report | INRAE INSTIT
• An agroecological Europe in 2050: multifunctional agriculture for healthy eating | IDDRI
• Biopesticides as an alternative to synthetic pesticides in potted plants (au.dk)