Pesticide opposition group calls for government to ban bee-killing pesticides

Tuesday, July 02, 2013 by: Lance Johnson
Tags: bee pollinators, neonicotinoids, pesticide ban

(NaturalNews) Neonicotinoid pesticides, including the likes of imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, dinetofuran and acetamiprid, are coming under heavy scrutiny. Their horrendous, environment-ravishing, bee-killing properties are responsible for entire bee colony collapses. As these poisons are sprayed into the air during seed planting, little regard has been given to the beckoning health and ecosystem consequences.

According to the Ontario Post, a recent Canadian beekeeper lost 600 hives, including a colony of 37 million bees following a nearby corn planting that sprayed a class of neonicotinoid pesticides manufactured by Bayer CropScience Inc. "Once the corn started to get planted, our bees died by the millions," Dave Schuit said.

EU bans neonicotinoids

These toxic chemicals are gaining widespread attention. The European Union effectively banned three classes of neonicotinoid pesticides starting Dec. 1, 2013. The EU is committed to further study linking dying bee populations in Europe to the mass crop-sprayed neonicotinoid pesticides.

On the heels of the EU ban, a pesticide opposition group in the US, the Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides, is calling on the EPA to address the dangers of neonicotinoid pesticides.

According to US researchers at Purdue University, thiamethoxam and clothianidin pesticides are found in the analysis of dead bees across the U.S. The dead bees studied were found to have died from neurotoxic symptoms. "Analysis of dead bees revealed traces of [thiamethoxam and clothianidin] in each case. Seed treatments of field crops (primarily corn) are the only major source of these compounds," said the researchers.

A major peer-reviewed Dutch study published in PLOS ONE on May 1, 2013, titled the Macro-Invertebrate Decline in Surface Water Polluted with Imidacloprid, presented large scale research based on multiple years of actual field monitoring data. The research revealed neonicotinoid insecticide pollution occurring in surface water, negatively effecting aquatic invertebrates, with potential to affect other species down the food chain.

The NCAP's letter to Obama and the EPA

As these pesticides continue their reign of terror in the US and Canada, unchecked, many are speaking out about the damages associated. One group, the Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides, (NCAP), has written a detailed letter to the President of the United States, demanding action to effectively eliminate these destructive chemicals from the U.S. The letter calls on the EPA to follow the actions of the European Food Safety Authority. According to their comprehensive, peer-reviewed research, the (EFSA) linked three neonicotinoid insecticides to acute and chronic hazards to honey bees.

The NCAP writes, "The EU decision signals the way forward for [the EPA] to suspend neonicotinoids in the United States."

The group points out in their letter that honey bee pollination contributes $20 to $30 billion per year to U.S. agriculture and the production of fruit and vegetable produce. "Pollination services provided by honey bees and the other even less-studied wild bees are far too important for agriculture, gardens and wild plants to treat them in a non-precautionary manner," the letter states.

Warning about the potential domino effects these pesticides are capable of, the NCAP reiterates how inadequate crop pollination and the rapid loss of viable pollinators are leading to devastated, irreversible consequences - losses to farmers, consumers, and the economy.

Neonicotinoid's effects on birds

Imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam threaten more than just bees. Their claws dig further into the ecosystem, effectively "sterilizing" much of the invertebrate food chain, including fish, amphibians, and birds.

A recent internationally recognized American Bird Conservancy (ABC) report, titled, The Impact of the Nation's Most Widely Used Insecticides on Birds, examined high mortality risks posed on a broad range of birds and aquatic wildlife. Led by avian toxicologist, Pierre Mineau, the report revealed that EPA-approved neonicotinoid contaminates "May be totally unprecedented in the history of pesticide registration...and that the EPA has not been heeding the warnings of its own toxicologists." The report detailed numerous shortcomings in neonicotinoid EPA approvals when compared with key EPA risk assessment documents.

The NCAP letter reveals EPA conspiracy against the people

The NCAP letter further reveals that the EPA has been working in a sort of conspiracy against the people and the environment. By compiling official EPA public statements at recent meetings and media gatherings, the group points out that even though the EPA knows about neonicotinoid dangers, nothing is ever done to stop these wild-fire-like poisons. Their assessments point out that:

• EPA officials recognize that EPA's enforcement guidance for neonicotinoid use is inadequate. Similarly, the EPA's bee kill incident reporting system is acknowledged as inadequate.

• EPA officials concur that the the labels on neonicotinoid products inadequately mitigate adverse environmental effects, avoiding seed dust-mediated honey bee mortality.

• The agency recognizes that current corn planting machinery "poses significant dust-off risks and needs changing".

• The agency collectively agrees that crop pollination and bee populations are indeed in a near-crisis state primarily due to insecticide use.

The NCAP can be reached here: http://www.pesticide.org/

Sources for this article include:

http://www.pesticide.org

http://www.pesticide.org/

http://www.prisonplanet.com