Challenging toxic chemicals on the farm >>> the award-winning documentary 'The Real Dirt on Farmer John' >>> Bridport: Saturday 13th June

There are real concerns for the plight of bees:
Futures Forum: Neonicotinoids are bad for bees >>> What can we do?

The campaign group 38 Degrees is pressing for action:

Our bees are in danger again. Toxic chemical companies are trying to get their banned pesticides back on UK fields. Yesterday an application was submitted to the government asking them to lift the ban on bee-killing chemicals for some crops planted this autumn. [1] Bees don’t have a voice, but 38 Degrees members do. Together, we fought for a Europe-wide ban, now we need to stop it getting watered down. [2] Please can you sign the petition right now demanding that we keep the ban on bee-killing pesticides? PETITION TEXT Elizabeth Truss MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Please don't allow any exemptions to the European ban on bee-killing pesticides (known as neonicotinoids). Our bees are too important. SIGN THE PETITION The powerful pesticides which Europe banned last year are called neonicotinoids - and they pose a huge risk to bees. Last month an influential group of scientists concluded that these banned pesticides don’t just kill bees, they wreak “havoc” with other insects and plants in the countryside too. [3] We need to keep working together to protect our bees because we know how crucial bees are to life on earth. We've marched on Parliament, we’ve signed petitions, we've sent thousands of emails and we've challenged politicians face to face. We worked alongside campaigners from across Europe to get these killer pesticides banned. [4] Now, we need to pull out all the stops - again. A huge petition will make it clear to the environment minister that she still needs to protect our bees, not the toxic profits of bee-killing chemical companies. Click the button to sign the petition and tell environment minister Liz Truss to protect the bees: SIGN THE PETITION PS: Bees pollinate apples, cucumbers, strawberries, tomatoes, cauliflowers, onions, cabbages, broccoli, carrots and many many more of our fruit and veg. Without bees, we wouldn’t last very long! So please help stop this new threat to their survival - sign the petition now: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/keep-the-ban  NOTES [1] Farmers Weekly: NFU confirms bid for neonics ban exemption http://www.fwi.co.uk/news/nfu-confirms-bid-for-neonics-ban-exemption.htm  [2] The 2-year EU-wide temporary ban was effective from December 2013, and will be reviewed later this year. The government can overturn the ban in ‘emergency’ circumstances - chemical company Syngenta sought to do this last year. The Independent: ‘Victory for bees’ as European Union bans neonicotinoid pesticides blamed for destroying bee population: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/victory-for-bees-as-european-union-bans-neonicotinoid-pesticides-blamed-for-destroying-bee-population-8595408.html  The Guardian: Syngenta seeks ‘emergency’ exemption to use banned insecticide on UK crops http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/25/syngenta-exemption-neonicotinoid-insecticide-ban-oilseed-rape  [3] New York Times: Pesticides linked to honeybee deaths pose more risks, European group says: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/09/business/energy-environment/pesticides-probably-more-harmful-than-previously-thought-scientist-group-warns.html  [4] Read about 38 Degrees members campaigning to save our bees here: http://blog.38degrees.org.uk/tag/bees/  You can read more about some of our friends’ campaigns to protect our bees here: Bug life: Saving the small things that run the planet: https://www.buglife.org.uk/  Friends of the Earth: The Bee Cause: https://www.foe.co.uk/what_we_do/the_bee_cause_home_map_39371/

Keep the ban on bee-killing pesticides

Next Saturday, there will be a showing of the classic documentary 'The Real Dirt on Farmer John' which looks at the journey of one American farmer:

The Real Dirt on Farmer John.

2005. 1hr 22 mins.

Doors open 6:45 for 7:30pm, Sat 13th June 2015.
The WI Hall, North Street, Bridport.
£3.00 Entry (Less if you can't afford it).
Vegetarian food available.

The bee-saving neonicotinoid ban is under threat from renewed corporate lobbying; UK farmers continue to struggle; and a recent report highlights the benefits of horticulture over agriculture, suggesting mistaken priorities in government subsidies...

What can be done?  This film is the entertaining and epic tale of a maverick mid-Western farmer who turned his failing farm around with the help of hope, imagination and community involvement.

Autonomy film show in Bridport Sat 13th June 2015. | Wessex Solidarity 



THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN follows Farmer John's astonishing journey from farm boy to counter-culture rebel to the son who almost lost the family farm to a beacon of today's booming organic farming movement and founder of one of the nation's largest Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms. The result is a tale that ebbs and flows with the fortunes of the soil and revealingly mirrors the changing American times.

THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN Official Trailer - YouTube
The Real Dirt on Farmer John - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sustainable Table | Film Review - The Real Dirt on Farmer John
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