[Pollinator] To 'Bee' or Not to 'Bee'

[Ladadams at aol.com]

To 'Bee' or Not to 'Bee' 
Mizo News 
February 24, 2014 
by Maneka Sanjay Gandhi  
Three years ago I wrote about bees vanishing from the world – a process 
that  started in 2006. The idea of extinction being so close – the vanishing of 
bees  means the end of the pollination of most plants – is so horrific,  
that most governments, like ours with its useless animal husbandry and  
agriculture ministry, have refused to even acknowledge this catastrophe. 
Now, US Department of Agriculture scientists have announced that 
pesticides,  fungicides and malnutrition are the official causes. The US lost 33% of 
its bee  colonies just last year alone. “We’re getting closer and closer to 
the point  where we don’t have enough bees in this country to meet 
pollination demands,”  said entomologist Dennis van Engelstorp of the University of 
Maryland, who  led the survey documenting the declines. This means the nation’
s food security  is at severe risk. 
 (http://www.mizonews.net/wp-content/uploads/bee-pollination.jpg)  
A bee pollinating a flower.
The honeybee shortage came to a head in March this year in California, when 
 there were barely enough bees to pollinate the almond crop. Who knows what 
will  happen next year – but, in every likelihood, almonds might just 
disappear. Along  with everything else. Every third food you consume has been 
directly or  indirectly pollinated by bees. 
The bees are dying in Europe as well. And in Asia. India has barely any 
left.  Mangoes, apples, bananas, pomegranates, baingan, bhindi… say goodbye to 
all your  fruit and vegetables. No, you will not be able to live on cereals 
and meat  because grain is also pollinated by bees and to create one kilo of 
meat , the  animal has to feed on 11 kilos of greens – which are pollinated 
by bees. 
The main culprits are a class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids. These  
were developed in the 1990s, rushed to market by multinational companies, 
bought  eagerly by third world politicians and bureaucrats with minimal and 
misleading  studies of potential harm, and now have the world’s most-used 
pesticides. The  pesticide, which was supposed to be used to increase the crops 
and alleviate  hunger, is now destroying the world. And still governments 
will not ban  them. 
Neonicotinoids are a class of insecticides chemically related to nicotine.  
Developed in the 1980s by Shell and the 1990s by Bayer. Imidacloprid is  
currently the most widely used insecticide in the world – one quarter  of all 
global insecticide sales-, applied to soil, seed, timber, cereals,  cotton, 
grain, legumes, potatoes, rice, turf and vegetables. It is followed  closely 
by Clothianidin and Thiamethoxam, invented in 2000. Currently, all corn  in 
the USA is treated with one of these two insecticides, as is soyabean.  
Clothianidin is one of the most toxic substances known for honey bees. 
Within 10 years the roof is caving in on the world. In July 2010, a Dutch  
toxicologist authored and published a book called “A Disaster in the Making”
  exploring the impact of neonicotinoids on the immune system of bees. In 
2009 a  documentary “Vanishing of the Bees” suggested neonicotinoid 
pesticides as the  culprit. In 2012, several peer-reviewed independent studies were 
published  showing that neonicotinoids were killing the bees. Their review 
concluded, “A  high acute risk to honey bees was identified from exposure via 
dust drift for  the seed treatment uses in maize, oilseed rape and  
cereals. A high acute risk was also identified from exposure via residues in  
nectar and/or pollen.” A two-year study published in 2012 showed the presence of  
two neonicotinoid insecticides, clothianidin and thiamethoxam, in bees 
found  dead in and around hives situated near agricultural fields. Other bees at 
the  hives exhibited tremors, uncoordinated movement and convulsions, all 
signs of  insecticide poisoning. The insecticides were also consistently 
found at low  levels in soil — up to two years after treated seed was planted — 
on nearby wild  flowers and in corn pollen gathered by the  bees. 
Researchers found 121 different pesticides in honeybee hives. On average,  
each hive contained between 6 – 36. 
In January 2013, the European Food Safety Authority stated that  
neonicotinoids pose an unacceptably high risk to bees, and that the  
industry-sponsored science upon which regulatory agencies’ claims of safety  relied on may 
have been severely flawed. This is not the first time that  multinationals 
have lied in order to get their products into the market – the  tobacco 
industry has done it for years. The UK Parliament has asked manufacturer  Bayer 
Cropscience to explain the discrepancies in the evidences they had  submitted 
about the safety of these pesticides. In March 2013, the US government  
Environmental Protection Agency was sued by a coalition of beekeepers and  
sustainable agriculture lobbies who accused the agency of performing inadequate  
toxicity evaluations and allowing registration of the pesticides on 
insufficient  industry studies. In March 2013, the American Bird Conservancy 
published a  review of 200 studies on neonicotinoids including secret industry 
research  obtained through the US Freedom of Information Act and called for a ban 
on  neonicotinoidse because of their toxicity to birds, aquatic 
invertebrates, and  other wildlife. 
On April 29, 2013, the European Union passed a two-year ban on 
neonicotinoid  insecticides, Temporary suspensions had previously been enacted in 
France,  Germany, Italy and Switzerland based on studies showing that bee losses 
were  correlated with the application of seeds treated with these compounds; 
Italy  also based its decision on the known acute toxicity of these 
compounds to  pollinators. 
The US EPA is now reviewing the safety of clothianidin, thiamethoxam and  
Imidacloprid and other neonicotinoids Acetamiprid, Dinotefuran, Nitenpyram,  
Thiacloprid. But the results will be out in 2017 or after – probably too 
late  for the bees and us. Even if a ban were to come in, it takes 4 years for 
these  pesticides to degrade. And if they have got into the ground water, 
then a ban is  irrelevant. 
Predictably, pesticide companies have fought the restrictions, arguing that 
 neonicotinoids are unfairly blamed. Bayer says the criticisms lack solid  
evidence. “This report relies on theoretical calculations and exposure 
estimates  that differ from accepted risk assessment methodologies, while 
disregarding  relevant data that are at odds with its claims,” the company said in 
a  statement. 
We will have to rethink our policy on pesticides very quickly. The honeybee 
 catastrophe is not a stand alone. Other pollinator species such as 
butterflies,  birds and insects will disappear, long before their absence is 
noticed. The  honeybees are simply the canary in the mine. 
Researchers have found widespread evidence of neonicotinoids spreading 
beyond  their crop targets. Seeds used to grow crops like corn, sunflowers and 
canola  are routinely coated in neonicotinoids, which then spread through  
plants as they grow. Many species of birds eat seeds.  As little as 15-200 
milligrams per kilo of bodyweight or just a few seeds coated  with imidacloprid 
can kill any birds. 
Chronic toxicity doesn’t kill animals overnight, but over time causes 
health,  reproductive and behavioural problems. Studies conducted on rats suggest 
that  neonicotinoids may adversely affect the human developing brain. 
Most entomologists and pest management professionals have been saying for  
years that there is no pest management justification for using these  
insecticides on virtually every crop. Yet, the Indian government continues to  
push these world killers onto the farmers. Wake up your Member of Parliament  
now, before it is too late. 
*Maneka Sanjay Gandhi is a parliamentarian and leader of animal rights  
movement in India. You may contact her at gandhim at nic.in,  
www.peopleforanimalsindia.org

Read more: http://www.mizonews.net/op-ed/bee-bee/#ixzz2uKuBagpg
 
Laurie Davies  Adams
Executive Director
Pollinator Partnership
423 Washington St.  5th Fl.
San Francisco, CA 94111
T: 415.362.1137
F: 415.362.0176

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