[Pollinator] FW: CEI report on pollinators

[Kelly Rourke]

*From:* Christine Hall [mailto:Christine.Hall at cei.org
<Christine.Hall at cei.org>]
*Sent:* Tuesday, June 16, 2015 11:03 AM
*To:* kr at pollinator.org
*Subject:* CEI report on pollinators



Kelly, thanks for fielding my call. As I mentioned, CEI has a recent policy
report on pollinators, with a focus on honeybees.



https://cei.org/sites/default/files/Angela%20Logomasini%20-%20Beepocalypse%20Not%20-%20April%2017%202015.pdf



While you all are tweeting about National Pollinator Week, I thought you
might be interested in the findings of this report and would consider
tweeting it out. I’ve pasted some of the key points below. The report
author, Angela Logomasini, is a chemical risk policy expert here at CEI.



Let me know what you think?


*Christine Hall*

Communications Director

Competitive Enterprise Institute

1899 L Street NW, 12th Floor

Washington, DC 20036

202-331-2258

www.cei.org

@christinehall





*Colony Collapse Disorder is not the biggest threat facing honeybees.* Lots
of people blame hive losses in recent years on the so-called Colony
Collapse (CCD) disorder, a phenomenon in which worker bees disappear,
leaving behind the queen and honey. But according to a 2010 United Nations
study, about 7 percent of hive losses are attributed to CCD, and the
remaining 93 percent to other causes. In fact, the more significant problem
is not really CCD, but instead compromised hive health, which is affected
by a combination of factors, including: diseases and parasites, poor queen
bee health, hive transport for pollination services, and nutritional
issues. Pesticides are the least among these factors and neonicotinoids the
least among those, if they have any impact at all.

*CCD is not a new problem that can be easily attributed to modern
pesticides.* The mysterious disappearance of hives is not a new phenomenon.
For example, the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural
Research Service, points out similarly curious honeybee disappearances in
the 1880s, 1920s, and 1960s.

*Honeybees are not even a “natural” part of any ecosystem in the United
States*. A narrative popular among environmentalists suggests that the
problem is mankind’s “tampering with nature,” but honeybees are not even
“native” to the United States. Instead, they are a farmed agricultural
commodity, imported from Europe during the 17th century for honey
production and crop pollination. Like cattle, they are largely an
agricultural commodity that is farmed and managed by human hands, in this
case beekeepers.

*Honeybees are nowhere near going extinct*. In fact, the number of hives
has increased globally. Globally, far more honeybees are used for honey
production than pollination services, and the amount of honey produced has
increased. U.S. and European commercial hives have decreased because honey
production simply moved to other nations, where the number of hives have
grown substantially. According to the United Nations Food Agricultural
Organization (FAO) statistics the number of beehives kept globally has
grown from nearly 50 million in 1961 to more than 80 million in 2013.

*Surveys in 2014 show that honeybee hives have improving survival rates. *Hives
kept for pollination services in the United States and Europe have shown
better survival rates in recent years, much closer to what beekeepers
consider normal. This occurred despite continued use of neonicotinoids.

*Farming and food production is not about to collapse because of poor
pollination.* About one third of food production in the United States
benefits from honey bee pollination, according to USDA. Poor hive health is
unlikely to completely undermine production of these foods, but it could
make them more expensive. Fortunately, improved hive survival can mitigate
such issues.

*There is no consistent correlation between neonicotinoids and hive losses.*
 If neonicotinoids were a cause of significant hive losses, we would expect
to see at least some correlation between their use and high hive losses,
but no such pattern has been observed since their introduction in the
1990s. In many places where these chemicals are used widely, such as in
Australia, CCD is not a problem. And in Europe during 2013-2014, hives
survived well in many areas where neonicotinoids were used.

*Field studies find no health effects from “sublethal exposures” to
neonicotinoids.* To date, there are no studies showing that honeybees have
suffered ill effects from “field-relevant” neonicotinoid exposures. Only
studies that feed the bees unrealistically high levels of the chemicals
show adverse effects. Studies of bees in the field where neonicotinoids are
used show no measureable effects.

*Neonicotinoids do not present the most significant pesticide exposure to
honeybees.* While activists like to blame neonicotinoids for the
disappearance of hibernating bees, little of these chemicals is actually
found in the hives. Instead, most of the chemicals found in the hive are
put there by beekeepers trying to fight various diseases carried by mites
and other organisms. “It’s like chemotherapy. They know it’s bad, but it’s
a lot better than the alternative,” says bee researcher Dennis
vanEngelsdorp.

*Alternative chemicals may prove more dangerous than neonicotinoids.*The
U.S. Agricultural Research Service notes on its website: “The
neonicotinoids were developed in the mid-1990s in large part because they
showed reduced toxicity to honey bees, compared with previously used
organophosphate and carbamate insecticides.” If farmers cannot use
neonicotinoids, they will use other chemicals that are more toxic to bees.

*Regulations will not solve the problem.* Regulations are slow to develop,
governed by political rather than practical and scientific goals, and hard
to modify, even when they become counterproductive. In the case of
honeybees, the best solutions will emerge with collaboration among the
parties with an interest in protecting bees, including beekeepers, farmers
and home gardeners.

Honeybee health issues are far broader than concerns raised by CCD alone
and the solutions require a better understanding of the issue. Shortsighted
pesticide bans will prove counterproductive, undermining food production
and harming both honeybees and native pollinators because replacement
products are likely to prove more dangerous. The best solution will strike
a balance that recognizes the value of targeted and managed use of
agrochemicals while minimizing risks.
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