MINNEAPOLIS, March 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Shoppers may
notice something unusual about the boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios on
grocery store shelves this spring -- "BuzzBee," the brand's iconic
spokesbee, is missing and there's a very important reason why. Buzz
disappeared from boxes because there's something serious going on
with the world's pollinators.
Pollinators are critical to our environment. More than two
thirds of the crops used to feed people, accounting for 90 percent
of the world's nutrition, are pollinated by bees1. With
deteriorating colony health, pollinators everywhere have been
disappearing by the millions1.
Pollinators need wildflower pollen and nectar to stay happy and
healthy. Planting wildflowers is recommended by conservationists as
one of the best ways to support pollinators, and is a fun, simple
way to help. Honey Nut Cheerios wants to create a more bee-friendly
world by encouraging consumers to plant over 100 million
wildflowers this year. To join #BringBackTheBees, families are
invited to order and plant free wildflower seeds from Vesey's Seeds
by visiting www.cheerios.com/bringbackthebees.
Bees have experienced an unprecedented scale of habitat loss,
with more than 9 million acres of grass and prairie land converted
to crop land since 2008.2 Although, BuzzBee and his
honey bee friends may not be in danger of extinction like some
other pollinators, in the interest of protecting our food supply,
General Mills is committed to helping all pollinators thrive
through the planting of these habitats.
"As a General Mills cereal built around nutrition, helping
pollinators get the key nutrition they need through fun,
family-friendly activities like planting wildflowers is a natural
fit," said Susanne Prucha, director
of marketing for Cheerios. "Our commitment to increasing the
habitat for pollinators is one way we are continuously striving to
be a company that not only makes products people love, but a
company that pursues creative solutions to make our world a better
place for all families."
Approximately 30 percent of all ingredients in General Mills'
products rely on pollination. Since 2011, General Mills has
invested more than $4 million with
the Xerces Society –the world's oldest and largest pollinator
conservation group – to support pollinator and biodiversity
efforts. Large-scale habitat projects have already been planted or
are underway with farms supplying ingredients to Cheerios, Muir
Glen, Cascadian Farm, LÄRABAR and Annie's.
Last spring, Honey Nut Cheerios announced that by the end of
2020, farms that grow oats for Cheerios will house approximately
3,300 total acres of dedicated pollinator habitat on 60,000 acres
of land. Previous pollinator habitat plantings on General Mills'
supplier farms indicate that each pollinator habitat is expected to
double the amount of bees in the area.
Throughout the spring, Honey Nut Cheerios will continue its
efforts to help conserve pollinator populations in the U.S. Visit
www.cheerios.com/bringbackthebees for more information on how to
help #BringBackTheBees.
About General Mills
General Mills is a leading global food company that serves the
world by making food people love. Its brands include Cheerios,
Annie's, Yoplait, Nature Valley, Fiber One, Haagen-Dazs,
Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Old El
Paso, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki and more.
Headquartered in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, USA, General Mills generated fiscal 2016
consolidated net sales of US $16.6
billion, as well as another US $1.0
billion from its proportionate share of joint-venture net
sales.
1
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/sustainable-agriculture/save-the-bees/
2 USDA Farm Service Agency
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SOURCE General Mills