[Pollinator] CropLife Canada and bees

[Clement Kent]

Thank you for your comments, Dr. Purdy. As there are several PhD's on the
internet with your name, am I correct in assuming you are the Dr. Purdy
described below?

"Dr. Purdy is an environmental chemistry expert with an extensive
background in the pesticide industry. He joined the Canadian operations of
Ciba Geigy in 1981, and held a series of leadership positions in product
development, production chemistry and environmental research." (source: The
Chemical Institute of Canada). This Dr. Purdy was also on the Scientific
Advisory Board of Vive Crop Protection, a company developing new pesticide
application methods (source: Bloomberg Business Week).

Regarding your comment that "the exposure is below the no-effect level in
most cases", you mention several recent reviews. Careful reading of the
article by Godfray, Blaquiere et al. (Proc. Roy. Soc. B 2014 281) documents
that the highest body burden levels of imidacloprid found in a French study
(para. 30, op. cit.) are in the range of levels (para. 34, op. cit.)
causing behavioral deficits in bees. You also state "speculation about
mixture effects has not been substantiated", but Godfray et al (para. 37)
refer to the recent Nature paper "Combined pesticide exposure severely
affects individual- and colony-level traits in bees" (Nature 491, 105-108).

Finally, you refer to your article Fairbrother, Purdy, et al. (Env.
Toxicology & Chem. 2014, v 33, Iss 4). The first and second authors work
for environmental consulting firms Exponent Inc and your company Abacus
Consulting Ltd. Funding for the article was provided by Bayer CropScience
Ag Research Division. Your 2014 article on chlorpyrifos was funded by Dow
AgroSciences. Exponent Inc. is periodically in the news:

   - Exponent "is known for its scientific research on behalf of corporate
   clients facing product liability concerns" ("Company pays government to
   challenge pesticide research showing link to Parkinson's", Politics Daily
   Feb 11 2011)
   - "When some of the world’s best-known companies faced disputes over
   secondhand smoke, toxic waste in the jungle and asbestos, they all turned
   to the same source for a staunch defense: Exponent Inc." ("Toyota calls in
   Exponent Inc. as hired gun", L.A. Times Feb. 18 2010)
   - "Perhaps less noticed by the public were efforts by Exponent to stop
   the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration from regulating the
   toxic chemical hexavalent chromium." ("Coal industry calls in controversial
   ‘hired gun’ to take on mountaintop removal-birth defects study", Charleston
   Gazette Jul. 13 2011)

This thread started with my comment on a recent post by CropLife Canada.
Exponent Inc. is a Member company in CropLife America (source:  CropLife
America Members web page).

It is of course fair and desirable for members of the agribusiness industry
to comment on pollinator issues, as the issues need a vigorous and open
dialogue. It is also fair, though not required, for participants in the
dialogue to indicate their affiliations to help other NAPPC readers
understand where we are coming from. I have documented some of the
affiliations of you and your coauthors. My own affiliation is as a
concerned citizen and a member of NAPPC. My Ph.D., postdoctoral work, and
current research are on insect behavior, genetics, and neurobiology. I do
not work on insecticides, and my opinions are my own and do not represent
in any way positions of my employer, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Regards,
Clement Kent, Ph.D.
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