Bees are responsible for 1 out of every 3 bites of food you eat every day -- what would happen if they weren't there to provide our food? New York's state fruit is delicious New York-grown apples, but without bees to pollinate them, all the trees would be bare! Now imagine that same situation with a lot of other fruits and vegetables as well -- and throw in the fact that bees are vital for the production of alfalfa...and the chain just keeps going! Bees are vital to our food supply.

Bees are threatened by the 4 Ps of the Bee Apocalypse: Pests, Pathogens, Pesticides, and Poor Nutrition. Bees are barraged by varroa and tracheal mites and bee diseases like nosema and foulbrood, but a strong population would have a much better chance of surviving these challenges if they did not also have to face the man-made threats of neonicotinoids, fungicides, and other "tank mix" pesticides as well as shrinking habitat and loss of good forage, with large monocrops of one item providing just one food source which does not last the entire forage year, when they need to have many food sources spread throughout the year for optimum health. New York's honeybees faced losses of nearly 1/2 of their colonies last year; these declines were also reflected in populations of wild, native bees. So the bees need all of our help to survive!

Please sign this petition saying that you support legislation that will help bees by supporting the bees and their helpers to increase the population of bees all across New York through a grant program; by limiting the use of neonicotinoids and neonicotinoid-treated seeds and plants in New York and eliminating the practice of "tank mix" application; and by promoting the planting of bee-friendly native flowers to support better forage and habitat and combat the mono-cropping that causes food deserts.

We, the undersigned, want bee-supportive legislation to pass so that New York becomes a great place for bees (which has a great side effect of helping other pollinators at the same time!) -- and it's up to us to save the bees and make NY a Great Place to BEE!<br><br>

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