OFA Supports Bees in France
At General Mills, we love bees. Not just Buzz Bee, the famed Honey Nut Cheerios mascot, but all bees. Here’s why:
Simply put, without bees, we wouldn’t have enough food to feed the world’s growing population.
As a global food company, this is very important for us.
Bees are responsible for pollinating the fruit, such as strawberries and blueberries, that go into our Yoplait yogurt and countless other products.
Sadly, bees are disappearing at an alarming rate, according to beekeepers and researchers around the world, including the University of Minnesota’s Bee Lab.
This is why General Mills and Yoplait support the vital work of Observatoire Français d’Apidologie (OFA) in France, where Yoplait yogurt is based.
The goal of the partnership? To research why bees are disappearing and to use this understanding to help regenerate healthy bee colonies that are essential to growing the food we need to feed our increasing population.
Learn about the partnership and impact made in this video.
“We are so proud of the impactful work we’ve been able to accomplish through our partnership with OFA,” said Florian Trohay, corporate social responsibility and sustainability manager for General Mills EUAU. “Since 2015, we have planted a total of two billion flowers through our Flowers for Bees program to create pollinator habitat in France, including many wildflower seeds that have been planted in our six French offices and plant communities, and in the home gardens of our very own employees.”
Now, French consumers will have the chance to help create pollinator habitat. For every pack of new Yoplait Organic purchased, OFA will plant 100 flowers.
This will result in 75 million flowers for bees!
Check out the French campaign materials below.
“In the next decade, our goal is to work with OFA to help them reach their goal of training 30,000 beekeepers and to create 10 million new bee hives,” said Mary Jane (Melendez) Laird, executive director of the General Mills Foundation. “We could not be more proud to support OFA in these important pursuits, as it is yet another way we can continue our mission of advancing sustainable agriculture.”
The next time you take a bite, remember: You need bees, too. We all do.
