Save the Bees Knees

Cheerios iconic representative is in grave danger of going extinct, but General Mills has a bright interactive idea to help keep this from happening.

Its campaign is called “Bring Back the Bees.” The idea is to send 100 wildflower seeds for free to anyone who registers on their website to help contribute the cause. Once the seeds are sent out, it is up to the participants to plant them in a “bee-friendly” area.

General Mills is a non-gmo brand therefore, the seeds that will be sent to the participants will not harm the process of keeping the bees safe. The goal of General Mills goal is 100 million of these seeds to be planted across the nation.

The bee population have dramatically declined over the past few years because of climate change and pesticides that are found in the flowers. In 2015, 42 percent of bee colonies in the U.S. collapsed, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The reason that the company is taking a stand on this dilemma is that more than 30 percent of its ingredients depend on pollination. Not only are honey bees depended on General Mills products but, they are also responsible for pollinating 70 out of the 100 biggest human food crops.

To raise awareness, the campaign also created a special edition of its cereal boxes. The in the packaging, Buzz, the bee, is replaced with a white outline holding a packet of seeds. There is also a lime green banner that instructs how to “bring back the bees.”

Director of marketing for Cheerios Susanne Prucha gave a statement on the website to back up its vision of the seeds.

"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."

If you want to make a difference to help the bees one seed at a time, visit www.cheerios.com/bringbackthebees/form to sign up.