[Pollinator] Is Nicotine Bees the next Silent Spring?

[Laurel Hopwood]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 11, 20009


Contact Laurel Hopwood, Sierra Club 216-371-9779

Neil Carman, Ph.D. 512-472-1767


Honeybees are dying and our food supply is in danger.

Is Nicotine Bees the new Silent Spring?


Sierra Club welcomes the release of Nicotine Bees, a new documentary that
provides an excellent synopsis of the loss of honeybees. Producers Kevin
Hansen and Krista Keenan did a superb job researching, interviewing and
splicing together an extraordinary story.


One out of every three bites of food that we consume is due to the work of
honeybees, serving as crucial pollinators. Yet the honeybee population has
been significantly dwindling over the past few years, a phenomena known as
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).


At issue are the nicotinyl insecticides (also known as neonicotinoids) being
used in a new way - as seed coatings. For years, farmers have been spraying
neonicotinoids onto their crops to stop insect infestation. Now agribusiness
corporations have acquired patents to coat their proprietary corn seeds with
these neonicotinoids.


Neil Carman, Ph.D., scientific advisor for the Sierra Club explains, “These
neonicotinoid coatings are extremely persistent. They enter the plant and
are present in pollen and on droplets of water on leaves.”


In light of this mounting evidence, the Sierra Club has been urging the EPA
to suspend approvals of these chemical treatments to protect our bees and
crops, until independent scientists verify safety. Yet the EPA has refused
action.


David Hackenberg, former president of the American Beekeeping Federation,
has also been urging the U.S. regulatory agencies to suspend these seed
treatments. "Look at what's time based. The massive bee decimation started
when regulatory agencies rubber stamped the use of neonicotinoid spraying
and coating," he said.


"Sierra Club joins the concern of beekeepers," said Laurel Hopwood,
chairperson for Sierra Club’s Genetic Engineering Action Team. "It's
unfortunate that regulatory agencies are using double speak. They claim to
protect our food supply - yet they continue to approve seed coatings without
the proper studies.”


Hopwood calls on every family to view Nicotine Bees and to take action. "The
loss of honeybees will leave a huge void in the kitchens of the American
people and an estimated loss of 14 billion dollars to farmers," said
Hopwood. "We expect the EPA to do their job."


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To view our action, visit
http://www.sierraclub.org/biotech/whatsnew/whatsnew_2009-11-10.asp

To purchase the video or request a screening, see http://NicotineBees.com

Laurel Hopwood, Sierra Club
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