<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#954F72;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.MsoPlainText, li.MsoPlainText, div.MsoPlainText
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Plain Text Char";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
p.msonormal0, li.msonormal0, div.msonormal0
{mso-style-name:msonormal;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;}
span.PlainTextChar
{mso-style-name:"Plain Text Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Plain Text";
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
span.EmailStyle20
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style></head><body lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoPlainText">It's great to see Kind making this public commitment, especially since the company is a significant purchaser of almonds. It should be noted that there are a few other major food companies, such as Häagen-Dazs, that are already doing that. Häagen-Dazs uses Bee Better Certified almonds in its ice cream, which is currently available in grocery stores nationwide. </p><p class="MsoPlainText"> </p><p class="MsoPlainText">To support these kinds of great initiatives, the Xerces Society launched Bee Better Certified three years ago, as food companies and farms reached out asking for an accreditation program for verifying product claims associated with pollinator conservation. The certification sets an achievable, but high standard for on-farm habitat and pesticide protection, and is independently verified by a third-party certifier (currently Oregon Tilth). Products that meet the requirements can display the Bee Better seal on packaging.</p><p class="MsoPlainText"> </p><p class="MsoPlainText">(Read more about the origins of Bee Better Certified on our blog, <a href="https://xerces.org/blog/bee-better-certified-protecting-bees-and-providing-level-playing-field-for-farmers-and-the-companies-that-support-them" target="_blank">https://xerces.org/blog/bee-better-certified-protecting-bees-and-providing-level-playing-field-for-farmers-and-the-companies-that-support-them</a>.) </p><p class="MsoPlainText"> </p><p class="MsoPlainText">Interestingly, the basic requirements mentioned in this article that farms put aside 5% of their land in habitat and protect pollinators from certain pesticides aligns with the production standards for Bee Better Certified, and we're excited to already have thousands of acres of California almonds certified to help support this effort. </p><p class="MsoPlainText"> </p><p class="MsoPlainText">You can read more about Bee Better Certified, the requirements that growers must meet, and the growing number of products that have achieved certification at <a href="https://beebettercertified.org/">https://beebettercertified.org/</a>.</p><p class="MsoPlainText"> </p><p class="MsoPlainText">Matthew</p><p class="MsoPlainText"> </p><p class="MsoPlainText"> </p><p class="MsoPlainText">-----Original Message-----<br>From: Pollinator [<a href="mailto:pollinator-bounces+mdshepherd=xerces.org@lists.sonic.net">mailto:pollinator-bounces+mdshepherd=xerces.org@lists.sonic.net</a>] On Behalf Of David Inouye<br>Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2020 8:09 PM<br>To: <a href="mailto:pollinator@nappc.org">pollinator@nappc.org</a><br>Subject: [Pollinator] Kind is the first food brand to commit to buying ‘bee-friendly’ almonds</p><p class="MsoPlainText"> </p><p class="MsoPlainText"><a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90541308/kind-is-the-first-food-brand-to-commit-to-buying-bee-friendly-almonds"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">https://www.fastcompany.com/90541308/kind-is-the-first-food-brand-to-commit-to-buying-bee-friendly-almonds</span></a></p><p class="MsoPlainText"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">----------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Matthew Shepherd</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Director of Communications & Outreach</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt">he/him/his</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><img border="0" width="160" height="60" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D67BCC.06CB9B40" alt="Email-Outlook_Xerces-logo-CMYK"></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Protecting the Life That Sustains Us</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Connect with us @xercessociety on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/xercessociety/" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">Facebook</span></a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/xercessociety" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">Twitter</span></a>, and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/xercessociety/?hl=en" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">Instagram</span></a>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Visit <a href="https://xerces.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">xerces.org</span></a> to read our <a href="https://xerces.org/blog" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">blog</span></a>, sign up for our <a href="https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001HTk7N6nZumLPinBr8VACbNdTXCe732bGu6KpqC13JAKPti_HBe5xyr7t0p4mDfKe2dOsd-TB1qvv772s6GQfVa_SbKKfwBiwl4blH4KvCjq4dpmA2M9UNZ2axlQwu_1Gvjrl2Rb53WUZwsddwCzyorgxedLAaMy3" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">e-newsletter</span></a>, and find out how you can protect invertebrates.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Watch us on <span style="color:#1f497d"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAiPLPJuySOgn6CbjkOxqLQ"><span style="color:blue">YouTube</span></a>.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Support our work: <a href="https://xerces.org/donate/"><span style="color:blue">Donate</span></a>!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">628 NE Broadway, Suite 200, Portland, OR 97232, USA</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Office: (503) 232-6639 x110</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Cell: (503) 807-1577</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><a href="mailto:matthew.shepherd@xerces.org" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">matthew.shepherd@xerces.org</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">----------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Matthew Shepherd</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Director of Communications & Outreach</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt">he/him/his</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><img border="0" width="128" height="48" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image004.jpg@01D67C81.42155CD0" alt="Email-Outlook_Xerces-logo-CMYK"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Protecting the Life That Sustains Us</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Connect with us @xercessociety on </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/xercessociety/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:blue">Facebook</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt">, </span><a href="https://twitter.com/xercessociety" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:blue">Twitter</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt">, and </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/xercessociety/?hl=en" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:blue">Instagram</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Visit </span><a href="https://xerces.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:blue">xerces.org</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> to read our </span><a href="https://xerces.org/blog" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:blue">blog</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt">, sign up for our </span><a href="https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001HTk7N6nZumLPinBr8VACbNdTXCe732bGu6KpqC13JAKPti_HBe5xyr7t0p4mDfKe2dOsd-TB1qvv772s6GQfVa_SbKKfwBiwl4blH4KvCjq4dpmA2M9UNZ2axlQwu_1Gvjrl2Rb53WUZwsddwCzyorgxedLAaMy3" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:blue">e-newsletter</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt">, and find out how you can protect invertebrates.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Watch us on </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAiPLPJuySOgn6CbjkOxqLQ"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:blue">YouTube</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#1f497d">.</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Support our work: </span><a href="https://xerces.org/donate/"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:blue">Donate</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt">!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">628 NE Broadway, Suite 200, Portland, OR 97232, USA</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Office: (503) 232-6639 x110</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Cell: (503) 807-1577</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:matthew.shepherd@xerces.org" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:blue">matthew.shepherd@xerces.org</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p></div></body></html>