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<P><STRONG>To 'Bee' or Not to 'Bee'</STRONG></P>
<P>Mizo News</P>
<P>February 24, 2014</P>
<P>by <EM>Maneka Sanjay Gandhi </EM></P>
<P>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 <SPAN class=IL_AD id=IL_AD2 $iceId="4"><U><FONT color=#009900>plants</FONT></U></SPAN> – is so horrific,
that most governments, like ours with its useless animal husbandry and
agriculture ministry, have refused to even acknowledge this catastrophe.</P>
<P>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 <SPAN class=IL_AD id=IL_AD5 $iceId="7"><U><FONT color=#009900>University</FONT></U></SPAN> of Maryland, who
led the survey documenting the declines. This means the nation’s food security
is at severe risk.</P>
<DIV class="wp-caption alignleft" id=attachment_145798 style="WIDTH: 290px"><A href="http://www.mizonews.net/wp-content/uploads/bee-pollination.jpg"><IMG class="size-full wp-image-145798" height=209 alt="A bee pollinating a flower. " src="http://www.mizonews.net/wp-content/uploads/bee-pollination.jpg" width=280></A>
<P class=wp-caption-text>A bee pollinating a <SPAN class=IL_AD id=IL_AD1 $iceId="3"><EM><U><FONT color=#009900>flower</FONT></U></EM></SPAN>.</P></DIV>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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 <SPAN class=IL_AD id=IL_AD4 $iceId="6"><U><FONT color=#009900>in the world</FONT></U></SPAN> – 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.</P>
<P>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 <SPAN class=IL_AD id=IL_AD3 $iceId="5"><U><FONT color=#009900>treatment</FONT></U></SPAN> 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
<SPAN class=IL_AD id=IL_AD6 $iceId="8"><U><FONT color=#009900>flowers</FONT></U></SPAN> and in corn pollen gathered by the
bees.</P>
<P>Researchers found 121 different pesticides in honeybee hives. On average,
each hive contained between 6 – 36.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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
<SPAN><SPAN>p</SPAN>lants</SPAN> 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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P><EM>*Maneka Sanjay Gandhi is a parliamentarian and leader of animal rights
movement in India. You may contact her at gandhim@nic.in,
www.peopleforanimalsindia.org</EM></P><BR><BR>Read more: <A style="COLOR: #003399" href="http://www.mizonews.net/op-ed/bee-bee/#ixzz2uKuBagpg">http://www.mizonews.net/op-ed/bee-bee/#ixzz2uKuBagpg</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">Laurie Davies
Adams<BR>Executive Director<BR>Pollinator Partnership<BR>4</FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">23 Washington St.
5th Fl.<BR>San Francisco, CA 94111<BR>T: 415.362.1137<BR>F: 415.362.0176<BR><IMG SRC="cid:X.MA1.1393331381@aol.com" height=173 width=319 border=0 DATASIZE="27063" ID="MA1.1393331381" ></FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><BR>Follow up on <A href="http://twitter.com/#!/Pollinators">Twitter</A> and <A href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pollinator-Partnership/48680445464">Facebook</A>!</FONT></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>