One person can make a difference!
A 55-year-old native Mayan beekeeper, Leydy Pech, has won out against Monsanto in a grassroots effort to protect her precious bees from glyphosate poisoning. Mexico is the sixth largest honey-producing country in the world, and the indigenous communities are major producers of honey from the Mayan stingless bees native to the area.
When her bees became threatened by Monsanto’s pesticides used on neighboring GMO soy crops, Pech led a lawsuit against the Mexican government to stop the planting of GMO crops in Mexico. Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled in November 2015 that the government is required by law to consult indigenous communities before planting its GMO soybeans. As a result, Monsanto’s permits to grow these crops in the states of Campeche and Yucatan were cancelled in 2017. The stingless bees are coming back from the brink of extinction due in part to her tireless efforts.
Pech was awarded the 2020 Goldman environmental Prize in honor of her work, and her efforts are a message to all that we should never give up the fight for what is right in the face of oppression and injustices. As of now, Mexico plans to phase out glyphosate altogether by March 31, 2024.
