Bee-Friendly Retailer Scorecard: The Buzz on Protecting Biodiversity
This year, the scorecard emphasizes the critical need for action within the trillion-dollar grocery sector to safeguard bees and biodiversity. Toxic pesticides, a shared threat to these essential creatures, also have far-reaching implications for climate change. The production of these petrochemicals is energy-intensive, while their use endangers vital soil organisms, key players in carbon sequestration and farmer resilience against climate change. Moreover, these chemicals pose risks to human health, affecting not only farmworkers but also rural communities on the frontlines of exposure.
Retail Giants in the Spotlight
While there are commendable efforts underway, such as Giant Eagle's improvement from a B to a B+ score, not all companies are making meaningful progress in line with their pollinator health policies. This includes major players like Albertsons, Costco, Rite Aid, and Target, who have lost points for lagging behind in their commitments.
Giant Eagle stands out as the only major U.S. food retailer to commit to eliminating key pesticides of concern from its supply chain. In a groundbreaking move, the company has pledged to phase out the use of nitroguanidine neonicotinoids, still allowed in the U.S. but banned in the EU since 2018, from its produce supply chain by 2025. Research underscores the urgency of such actions, showing a 48-fold increase in toxicity to bees and beneficial insects since the introduction of neonicotinoids in the 1990s.
A Plea for Action
Amid growing concerns about the decline of pollinators responsible for a third of the food we consume, grocery retailers are beginning to address the pervasive use of toxic pesticides in their supply chains. Kendra Klein, Deputy Director of Science at Friends of the Earth, stresses the need for immediate, measurable action to combat the biodiversity crisis. Bees are dying at alarming rates, and retailers play a crucial role in addressing this issue.
Economic Influence of Food Retailers
Food retailers hold significant economic power to reshape the food system. The 25 evaluated companies together control over $1.78 trillion in food and beverage sales annually. The four largest among them, Walmart, Amazon, Costco, and Kroger, alone accounted for $1.02 trillion in 2022. These figures underscore the influence these retailers have in shaping sustainable practices in the food industry.
The Organic Commitment
The Scorecard doesn't stop at pesticide policies. It also evaluates companies on their organic offerings. Organic regulations prohibit over 900 synthetic pesticides, including highly hazardous substances like neonicotinoids, organophosphates, and glyphosate. Surprisingly, only two companies, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, exceed the 15% benchmark of organic sales. Friends of the Earth aims to encourage all major retailers to meet this goal by 2025.
The Critical Role of Pollinators
Pollinators are the unsung heroes of our food supply, contributing approximately $34 billion to the U.S. economy and up to $577 billion globally each year. The loss of pollinators has already resulted in decreased crop production, impacting everything from apples to cherries.
A Unified Effort for Change
The Bee-Friendly Retailer campaign boasts the support of over 100 organizations, including beekeepers, farmers, farmworkers, consumers, and environmental advocates. Among them is the Campaign for Healthier Solutions, collaborating with dollar stores to phase out harmful chemicals.
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