France is moving towards a full ban on herbicides that are harming bees

Tuesday, April 05, 2016 by: L.J. Devon, Staff Writer
Tags: honey bees, herbicides, neonicotinoids

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(NaturalNews) Three years ago, the European Union strictly limited the use of neonicotinoid herbicides, blocking companies such as Bayer CropScience and Syngenta from selling their chemicals. In that time, honey bee colonies have re-emerged.

France's National Assembly are now committed to a full ban on neonicotinoids. If the new biodiversity bill passes the French Senate, the neonicotinoid ban will go into effect on Sept. 1, 2018.

Prominent neonicotinoid manufacturer, Bayer CropScience believes that farmers will lose up to 40 percent of their harvests due to the ban. However, France's environmental minister is in full support of the ban, and would even like to phase out the use of glyphosate. The country's agricultural minister thinks the ban would hurt farmers in the short term, as they struggle to learn new ways to improve crop health to combat pests.

France's Segolene Royal made a statement that provides hope for the future, "This decision will prepare us for the future and protect bees and the role they play. Research and development of substitute products has to accelerate." Hopefully more countries will follow France's lead and save the honey bees and the harmony between all living things in the natural world.

Holding herbicide manufacturers accountable

When a widely-used agricultural product puts the health of an entire population at risk and threatens the world's most important pollinators, regulatory oversight and accountability become of utmost importance. Sadly, many of the regulations put in place by governments today, actually make it easier for corporations to exploit the environment and unleash massive amounts of agricultural chemicals, which pollute soil, water and food. This chemical damage ultimately trickles through the ecosystem, affecting the health and survival of insects, plants, wildlife and humans.

As the industrial economy powers ahead, large scale mining operations leave behind heavy metal deposits that contaminate the soil and water. Pesticide and herbicide manufacturers unleash a stew of synthetic chemicals that create disharmony in the body by weakening the gastrointestinal tract and competing with nutrient uptake and absorption.

It takes leaders with conviction to stand up against the chemical assault that is taking place on humanity and the natural world. France is one country making great strides toward a healthier planet. The country recently passed laws requiring restaurants and food manufacturers to donate their excess to charities so good food won't go to waste. Now France is moving toward a full ban on neonicotinoid pesticides which have been contributing to the collapse of the important honey bee pollinators.

Finding balance between good economy and the health of the planet

A large portion of today's world economy is based on products derived from synthetic chemistry experiments. Nearly all pharmaceuticals are developed in stark contrast to what medicine really is. The modern medical system has abandoned the real medicines that are synthesized in nature; for example, the catechins in green and white tea, the curcuminoids in turmeric, glycyrrhizin in licorice root, or the quercetin in blackberries, bilberries, olive oil, etc.

The corporations that people invest in the most through stocks and 401ks are the same companies unleashing mass chemical assault on crops. Shouldn't countries and their people be making investments in new products that work with the natural environment instead of destroying it? There has to be balance between what is economically valuable and what is smart for the health of people and the planet. The repercussions of neonicotinoids, for example, can wipe out honey bee populations, ultimately affecting the future economy of fruit and vegetable crops that rely on the honey bees. Hundreds of billions of dollars can be lost if the honey bees aren't protected. If honey bees become endangered any further, many of the crops that humans need to thrive will simultaneously be put in danger.

Agricultural products assault the environment in ways that can be felt throughout the entire ecosystem, decimating pollinators, changing the microbial profile of the soil and ravaging water purity. On top of that, plants and insects targeted by pesticides and herbicides develop increased resistance to the synthetic attacks.

Isn't it time we recognized these chemicals for what they truly are: an assault on life? Isn't it time we defend ourselves as people and as nations from these attacks?

Sources include:

News.Yahoo.com

NaturalNews.com

Science.NaturalNews.com