<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.19412"></HEAD>
<BODY style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt" id=role_body
bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 rightMargin=7 topMargin=7><FONT id=role_document
color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>
<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2
face=Arial><FONT color=black size=2 face=arial><FONT color=black size=2
face=arial><FONT size=2>From the Guardian/Observer<BR></FONT></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px">
<DIV id=article-header>
<DIV id=main-article-info>
<H1 itemprop="name headline ">Insecticide firms in secret bid to stop ban
that could save bees</H1>
<DIV id=stand-first class=stand-first-alone itemprop="description"
data-component="Article:standfirst_cta">Last-ditch lobbying to sway vote in
Brussels to halt use of killer nerve agents</DIV></DIV>
<UL id=content-actions class="share-links trackable-component"
data-component="Article:top share tools">
<LI class="full-line facebook"><SPAN class=facebook-share><A
class=facebook-share-btn
title=http://www.facebook.com/dialog/feed?app_id=180444840287&link=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/28/europe-insecticides-ban-save-bees&display=popup&redirect_uri=http://static-serve.appspot.com/static/facebook-share/callback.html&show_error=false&ref=desktop
href="http://www.facebook.com/dialog/feed?app_id=180444840287&link=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/28/europe-insecticides-ban-save-bees&display=popup&redirect_uri=http://static-serve.appspot.com/static/facebook-share/callback.html&show_error=false&ref=desktop"
data-href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/28/europe-insecticides-ban-save-bees"
data-link-name="Facebook Share"><SPAN class=facebook-share-icon></SPAN><SPAN
class=facebook-share-label>Share</SPAN> </A><SPAN
class=facebook-share-count>5616</SPAN> </SPAN>
<LI class=full-line><BR>
<LI class="full-line google-plus" data-link-name="Google plus"><BR>
<LI class="full-line linked-in" data-link-name="LinkedIn"><SPAN
style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: 1; DISPLAY: inline-block; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline"
class=IN-widget><SPAN
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px !important; TEXT-INDENT: 0px !important; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px !important; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px !important; DISPLAY: inline-block !important; FONT-SIZE: 1px !important; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline !important; PADDING-TOP: 0px !important"><SPAN
id=li_ui_li_gen_1367217147716_0><A
id=li_ui_li_gen_1367217147716_0-link><SPAN
id=li_ui_li_gen_1367217147716_0-logo>in</SPAN><SPAN
id=li_ui_li_gen_1367217147716_0-title><SPAN
id=li_ui_li_gen_1367217147716_0-mark></SPAN><SPAN
id=li_ui_li_gen_1367217147716_0-title-text>Share</SPAN></SPAN></A></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px !important; TEXT-INDENT: 0px !important; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px !important; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px !important; DISPLAY: inline-block !important; FONT-SIZE: 1px !important; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline !important; PADDING-TOP: 0px !important"><SPAN
id=li_ui_li_gen_1367217147774_1-container class=IN-right><SPAN
id=li_ui_li_gen_1367217147774_1 class=IN-right><SPAN
id=li_ui_li_gen_1367217147774_1-inner class=IN-right><SPAN
id=li_ui_li_gen_1367217147774_1-content
class=IN-right>24</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>
<LI class="full-line email" data-link-name="email this story"><A
class="rollover send-email"
title=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/28/europe-insecticides-ban-save-bees#
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/28/europe-insecticides-ban-save-bees#"><IMG
class=trail-icon
title=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/28/europe-insecticides-ban-save-bees#
alt=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/28/europe-insecticides-ban-save-bees#
src="http://static.guim.co.uk/static/52baaf1a56a5e11c763b34c4a9428b50b48efe2a/common/images/icon-email.png">Email</A>
</LI></UL></DIV>
<DIV id=content>
<UL class="article-attributes trackable-component b4"
data-component="Article:byline">
<LI class=byline>
<DIV class=contributor-full><SPAN itemprop="author" itemscope=""
itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><SPAN itemprop="name"><A
class=contributor title=http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/damiancarrington
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/damiancarrington" rel=author
itemprop="url">Damian Carrington</A></SPAN></SPAN> </DIV>
<LI class=publication><A title=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/
href="http://observer.guardian.co.uk/" itemprop="publisher">The
Observer</A>, <TIME itemprop="datePublished" datetime="2013-04-27"
pubdate="">Saturday 27 April 2013</TIME>
<LI class=comment-count><A style="DISPLAY: inline"
class=content-comment-count
title=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/28/europe-insecticides-ban-save-bees#start-of-comments
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/28/europe-insecticides-ban-save-bees#start-of-comments"
data-link-name="comment-count"><SPAN class=comment-count-text>Jump to
comments</SPAN> (<SPAN class=comment-count-val>180</SPAN>)</A> </LI></UL>
<DIV id=article-wrapper class=trackable-component
data-component="Article:in body link">
<DIV id=main-content-picture itemprop="image" itemscope=""
itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject"><IMG
alt="Beekeepers report higher loss rates In bee population"
src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Observer/Pix/pictures/2013/4/26/1366999373754/Beekeepers-report-higher--010.jpg"
width=460 height=276 itemprop="contentUrl representativeOfPage">
<DIV class=caption itemprop="caption">Bees are vital for pollination, and
scientific studies have linked pesticides to huge losses in their numbers.
Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty</DIV></DIV>
<DIV id=article-body-blocks>
<DIV><A title=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/europe-news
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/europe-news">Europe</A> is on the brink
of a landmark ban on the world's most widely used insecticides, which have
increasingly been linked to serious declines in bee numbers. Despite intense
secret lobbying by British ministers and chemical companies against the ban,
revealed in documents obtained by the <EM>Observer</EM>, a vote in Brussels on
Monday is expected to lead to the suspension of the nerve agents.</DIV>
<DIV><A title=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/bees
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/bees">Bees</A> and other <A
title=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/insects
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/insects">insects</A> are vital for
global food production as they pollinate three-quarters of all crops. The <A
title=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/05/mps-owen-paterson-suspend-bees-pesticides
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/05/mps-owen-paterson-suspend-bees-pesticides">plummeting
numbers of pollinators</A> in recent years has been blamed on disease, loss of
habitat and, increasingly, the near ubiquitous use of neonicotinoid <A
title=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/pesticides
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/pesticides">pesticides</A>.</DIV>
<DIV>The prospect of a ban has prompted a fierce behind-the-scenes campaign.
In a letter released to the <EM>Observer</EM> under freedom of information
rules, the environment secretary, Owen Paterson, told the chemicals company
Syngenta last week that he was "extremely disappointed" by the <A
title=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/european-commission
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/european-commission">European
commission</A>'s proposed ban. He said that "the UK has been very active" in
opposing it and "our efforts will continue and intensify in the coming
days".</DIV>
<DIV>Publicly, ministers have expressed concern for bees, with <A
title=http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm130424/debtext/130424-0001.htm#13042444000005
href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm130424/debtext/130424-0001.htm#13042444000005">David
Cameron saying</A>: "If we do not look after our bee populations, very serious
consequences will follow."</DIV>
<DIV>The chemical companies, which make billions from the products, have also
lobbied hard, with Syngenta even threatening to sue individual <A
title=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/eu
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/eu">European Union</A> officials
involved in publishing a report that found the <A
title=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jan/16/insecticide-unacceptable-danger-bees
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jan/16/insecticide-unacceptable-danger-bees">pesticides
posed an unacceptable risk to bees</A>, according to documents seen by the
<EM>Observer</EM>. The report, from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA),
led the commission to propose a two-year ban on three neonicotinoids. "EFSA
has provided a strong, substantive and scientific case for the suspension," a
commission spokesman said.</DIV>
<DIV>A series of high-profile scientific studies has <A
title=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/mar/29/crop-pesticides-honeybee-decline
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/mar/29/crop-pesticides-honeybee-decline">linked
neonicotinoids to huge losses</A> in the number of queens produced and big
increases in "disappeared" bees – those that fail to return from foraging
trips. Pesticide manufacturers and UK ministers have argued that the science
is inconclusive and that a ban would harm food production, but
conservationists say harm stemming from dying pollinators is even
greater.</DIV>
<DIV>"It's a landmark vote," said Joan Walley MP, chairwoman of parliament's
green watchdog, the environmental audit committee, whose <A
title=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/05/mps-owen-paterson-suspend-bees-pesticides
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/05/mps-owen-paterson-suspend-bees-pesticides">recent
report</A> on pollinators condemned the government's "extraordinary
complacency". Walley said: "You have to have scientific evidence, but you also
have to have the precautionary principle – that's the heart of this
debate."</DIV>
<DIV>A ban has been supported by <A
title=http://www.avaaz.org/en/hours_to_save_the_bees/?slideshow
href="http://www.avaaz.org/en/hours_to_save_the_bees/?slideshow">petitions
signed by millions of people</A> and Paterson has received 80,000 emails, an
influx that he described as a "<A
title=http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2013/03/19/mp-owen-paterson-bombarded-by-80000-bee-e-mails/
href="http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2013/03/19/mp-owen-paterson-bombarded-by-80000-bee-e-mails/">cyber-attack</A>".
"The impact of neonicotinoids on the massive demise of our bees is clear, yet
Paterson seems unable to escape the haze of sloppy science and lobbying by
powerful pesticide giants," said Iain Keith of the campaign group Avaaz.
"Seventy per cent of British people want these poisons banned. Paterson must
reconsider or send the bees to chemical Armageddon." Andrew Pendleton of
Friends of the Earth said a ban would be "a historic moment in the fight to
save our bees".</DIV>
<DIV>A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
said: "As the proposal currently stands we could not support an outright ban.
We have always been clear that a healthy bee population is our top priority,
that's why decisions need to be taken using the best possible scientific
evidence and we want to work with the commission to achieve this. Any action
taken must be proportionate and not have any unforeseen knock-on
effects."</DIV>
<DIV>"This plan is motivated by a quite understandable desire to save the
beleaguered bee and concern about a serious decline in other important
pollinator species," said the government's chief scientific adviser, Sir Mark
Walport, "but it is based on a misreading of the currently available
evidence." He said the EC plan was a serious "mistake".</DIV>
<DIV>Julian Little, a spokesman for Bayer Cropscience, said: "Call me an
optimist, but I still believe the commission will see sense. There is so much
field evidence to demonstrate safe use [and] an increasing number of member
states who reject the apparent drive towards museum agriculture in the
European Union." However, Bulgaria is the only nation known to have changed
its voting intention and it <A
title=http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/04/22/bulgaria-bees-pesticides-idUKL6N0D91CB20130422
href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/04/22/bulgaria-bees-pesticides-idUKL6N0D91CB20130422">will
reverse its opposition</A>.</DIV>
<DIV>The chemical industry has mounted an increasingly desperate lobbying
effort against a ban on neonicotinoids, which have been in use for more than a
decade. In March the top producers, Syngenta and Bayer, proposed a plan to
support bee health, including planting more flowering margins around fields
and monitoring for neonicotinoids.</DIV>
<DIV>However, the private lobbying began much earlier with a series of
letters, obtained by <A
title=http://corporateeurope.org/publications/pesticides-against-pollinators
href="http://corporateeurope.org/publications/pesticides-against-pollinators">Corporate
Europe Observatory</A> and given to the <EM>Observer</EM>, which were sent to
commissioners in the summer of 2012, after France had proposed a unilateral
ban. One Syngenta executive, mentioning in passing his recent lunch with
Barack Obama, claimed that "a small group of activists and hobby bee-keepers"
were behind that campaign for a ban. Another letter claims, without citing
evidence, that the production of key crops would fall by "up to 40%".</DIV>
<DIV>At that time, the European Crop Protection Association – of which
Syngenta and Bayer are members – welcomed the continuing EFSA evaluation. But
in January, as the EFSA prepared to issue the damning verdict of its experts,
the industry immediately turned on it. Syngenta's lawyers demanded last-minute
changes to a press release to prevent "serious damage to the integrity of our
product and reputation" and threatened legal action.</DIV>
<DIV>The EFSA stood its ground, prompting Syngenta to demand all documents,
including handwritten ones, relating to the EFSA's decision and the names of
individuals involved. A month later, it told EFSA officials it was considering
the "identity of specific defendants" for possible court action. On a more
conciliatory note, Syngenta told the EFSA it was considering "large-scale"
bee-monitoring studies to "close data gaps", despite previous claims its
product had been introduced only after "the <A
title=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21366547
href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21366547">most stringent
regulatory work</A>". Critics have condemned companies for keeping trial data
secret.</DIV>
<DIV>A spokesman for Syngenta said: "No evidence from the field has ever been
presented that these pesticides actually damage bee health, with the case
against them resting on a few studies which identify some highly theoretical
risks. Regardless of the outcome, we will continue our work with anyone who
shares our goal of improving bee health, which is vital for sustainable
agriculture as well as the future of our business."</DIV>
<DIV>In the <A
title=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/15/bee-harming-pesticides-escape-european-ban
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/15/bee-harming-pesticides-escape-european-ban">first
commission vote in March</A>, 13 countries supported a ban, nine opposed it
and five, including the UK and Germany, abstained, which meant there was not a
sufficient majority for or against under voting rules, which give larger
nations more votes. The result is likely to be repeated on Monday, meaning
that the commission would step in and it is determined to see a ban in
place.The chemical industry has warned that a ban on neonicotinoids would lead
to the return of older, more harmful pesticides and crop losses. But
campaigners point out that this has not happened during temporary suspensions
in France, Italy and Germany and that the use of natural pest predators and
crop rotation can tackle problems.</DIV>
<DIV>Professor David Goulson, a bee expert at the University of Sussex whose
research has found harmful effects from neonicotinoids, said: "There is now a
very substantial body of scientific evidence suggesting that this class of
insecticides is impacting on health of wild bees, and perhaps other <A
title=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/wildlife
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/wildlife">wildlife</A> too. It is
time for the EU's politicians to take a responsible position and support this
ban."</DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></FONT></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>