Bee Killing Pesticides Study – ‘The Evidence Of Harm Is Now Clear’

People power and grass root protest groups is the only reason why companies like Monsanto do not have a patent on the human food chain. Protest group have sprung up all over the world to combat what many see as an existential threat to human life with bee killing pesticides.

So serious do some see this threat that even President Putin has warned the Obama administration of the growing threat of Monsanto and GMOs, which are strictly banned in Russia.

Marches against Monsanto, which took place in May 2013 involved some 2 million people in 450 cities and 50 countries, who took to the streets with the same message—that genetic engineering and Monsanto are out of control.

Monsanto, which is the world leader in GM crops (and the pesticides and herbicides that go along with them), is clearly no friend to the bees.

Helping to get word out that corporations like Monsanto could very well be at the foundation of the widespread bee die-off has been the job of these small environmental activists. This isn’t the case if you ask Monsanto, of course, which responded to the media coverage of Bee Against Monsanto thus:

“As a company focused solely on agriculture, we recognize the importance of bees to our business, our growers and the environment… In 2013, Monsanto announced its Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Commitment to Action on Honey Bee Health… Using a diverse group of stakeholders, the Coalition will work to:

• Improve honey bee nutrition
• Provide research investment in novel technology for varroa and virus control
• Understand science-based approaches to studying pesticide impacts on honey bees and increasing awareness of pesticide
• Best Management practices among growers and beekeepers
• Enable economic empowerment of beekeepers

Clearly a company like Monsanto has no interest in anything other than attempting to soften the terrible media coverage of their products and increase profits irrespective of the consequences.

Monsanto bought Beeologics in 2013, a company whose primary goal is finding a solution to the colony collapse disorder (CCD, the widely used term to describe bee die-offs). Bayer is a leading manufacturer of the neonicotinoid pesticides at the heart of the debate.

They opened the North American Bee Care Center in 2013, where they are conducting “bee health research” and promoting “bee-responsible use of Bayer products.” Monsanto and Bayer are going to stop at nothing to make sure their insecticides and GM crops are completely cleared of any wrongdoing.

Of all the mega-corps running amok, Monsanto has consistently outperformed its rivals, earning the crown as “most evil corporation on Earth!” Not content to simply rest upon its throne of destruction, it remains focused on newer, more scientifically innovative ways to harm the planet and its people but they do have a marked history of death and destruction.

Monsanto were responsible for PCB’s, Plutonium purification for the atom bomb used on Japan and also the architect of one of the worlds deadliest nuclear industrial accidents. DDT was another deadly product of Monsanto alongside Dioxins and the chemical warfare weapon used in Vietnam. Agent Orange killed 400,000 people and maimed many more. 500,000 children were born with birth defects, and up to 1 million people were disabled or suffered from health problems—not to mention the far-reaching impact it had on the health of over 3 million American troops and their offspring. The list of harm that this terrifying company has caused is truly breathtaking.

More recently, pesticides that have been banned in Europe over bee safety concerns may pose an even greater risk to pollinators than previously thought, a new report by the European Union’s food safety watchdog reveals.

Neonicotinoids, or neonics, pose high risks to bees when sprayed on plant leaves, according to data by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in its report, published Wednesday—which bolsters previous findings that neonics harm pollinators when used as seed treatments or granules.

The EFSA studied three pesticides in particular—clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam—all of which were banned by the EU in 2013 for a two-year period after scientific reports warned of their dangers. The latest findings, said Greenpeace EU agriculture policy director Marco Contiero, “confirmed what has already been demonstrated by a wealth of scientific evidence: neonicotinoids are a serious threat to bees and to the future of farming.”

“The Commission should expand the EU-wide ban to cover all uses of neonicotinoids on all crops,” Contiero said. “Viable non-chemical alternatives exist and the EU should encourage farmers to use them.” José Tarazona, head of the EFSA’s pesticide unit, told the Guardian on Wednesday it is “clear that in some cases there is data suggesting high toxicity and potential risk from these substances.”

Neonic use has been linked to dramatic declines in populations of pollinators like bumblebees and honey bees, as well as insects like moths, ladybirds and hoverflies, which help reduce numbers of crop pests. All bee varieties in Europe have been placed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s red list (pdf) of threatened species.

“Another day and yet another study shows the high risk to bees from neonicotinoid pesticides,” said Paul de Zylva, senior nature campaigner at Friends of the Earth (FOE), in response to the EFSA’s study.

“The evidence of harm is clear,” de Zylva continued. “Questions need to be asked about how these products were ever approved for use in the first place when they were not tested for their effects on different types of bees.”

Earlier this year, the United Kingdom lifted its own moratorium on pesticides to allow for some limited use of two kinds of neonics—produced by agrochemical giants Bayer and Syngenta—by farmers growing oilseed rape on roughly 300 square kilometers of land. While the repeal is temporary, giving farmers access to the pesticides for only 120 days, the move sparked outrage among environmental advocates.

Wednesday’s findings “underlines why neonics are restricted and why we are challenging the Government’s decision to allow use of the banned pesticides in England,” de Zylva said.

TruePublica

---