[Pollinator] CropLife Canada and bees

[Clement Kent]

The last Pollinator Digest (v 1382, issue 1) had a note from CropLife
Canada pointing readers to their "Beepocalypse? No" literature. Some
readers may not know CropLife Canada - it is a trade organization supported
by the largest manufacturers of pesticides including Bayer, Dow, DuPont,
Monsanto, and Syngenta. In the past, they sought to bring suit in the
Supreme Court of Canada against the City of Toronto for introducing a "no
cosmetic use of pesticides" bylaw. The Canadian Environmental Law
Association intervened and the bylaw was sustained and has been widely
copied in Canadian municipalities.

At present, according to the  Sierra Club Foundation of Canada, "CropLife
is in the midst of a major lobbying and public relations campaign to
prevent Canada from adopting a ban on bee killing neonicotinoid pesticides"
and has recently installed a just-retired Member of Parliament from the
ruling Conservative Party on its Board of Directors. Sierra Club says "We
are advised that this could constitute a conflict of interest" under a
federal act and have asked the Federal Ethics commissioner to investigate.

This is useful background on CropLife Canada for pollination advocates to
understand. The substantive claim on their web page is limited to the
statement that the number of beehives in various jurisdictions is not in
decline. What they do NOT mention is the loss rate of beehives, which has
been much higher in recent years than the past in the same jurisdictions.
Up to a point, beekeepers can replace lost hives, but this increases costs
and has made many beekeepers unprofitable in recent years.

So, while the number of beehives does not yet indicate "Beepocalypse", loss
rates are making it difficult for many beekeepers to stay in business. This
is a warning sign we must heed.

Clement Kent
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