European Citizens’ Initiative “Save Bees and Farmers”: Towards a bee-friendly agriculture system for a healthier environment


The use of synthetic pesticides comes with devastating impacts for human and environmental health: bees, butterflies and other insects and species are vanishing from our landscapes, Europe’s streams and rivers are getting polluted and farmers, and residents of agricultural areas and consumers alike are exposed to a daily cocktail of harmful chemicals. 

Some of these chemicals are known or suspected to cause cancer or seriously disrupt our hormone system, reproduction and development. 

The “Save Bees and Farmers!” European Citizens’ Initiative is a growing network of currently over 140 environmental NGOs, farmer and beekeeper organisations, charitable foundations and scientific institutions distributed throughout the European Union, working together to reconcile agriculture, health and biodiversity. 

Take a few minutes to sign the petition that calls for a bee-friendly agriculture system for a healthier environment and join the over 760.000 Europeans who have expressed their support already (available in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish). 

It needs to reach the milestone of 1 million signatures by 30th September.

This petition, supported by many members of the EDC-Free Europe campaign, asks the European Commission and EU Parliament to reform the current EU agricultural policy to better protect health, save bees and support EU farmers to phase-out the use of synthetic pesticides by 80% in 2030 and completely by 2035. It also demands for:

  • The adoption of measures to recover biodiversity, and support to farmers in the transition towards agro-ecology.
  • The introduction of the necessary legal framework and sufficient economic incentives for the transition to a truly sustainable agriculture. 

To find out more about the work that EDC-Free Europe campaign partners do in particular for better protection against harmful synthetic pesticides see: