Originally published January 7 2011
Deception causes honey bees to disappear and threatens crops
by Paul Fassa
(NaturalNews) Sometimes a scientific press release is really a bogus red herring. A recent study hailed by the press as solving the mystery of CCD or Colony Collapse Disorder could be one. The study claims to solve the disappearance of bees that pollinate many food crops. It purports to be a breakthrough in the CCD mystery.
But is it really, or is it a red herring to cover up the real source of honey bee distress?
The Study Summarized
The study, hailed by the mainstream media as a cause for hope, merely isolates the two diseases that apparently finish off the bees. One is viral, IIV or invertebrate iridescent viruses, and the other, Nosema, is fungal. The study concluded that although these pathogens are individually common among bees, the combination of the two is always present in a collapsed bee colony.
Here`s the study`s "only solution": Isolate the diseased bees and cull them from the colony. This seems more in line with that notorious Vietnam War quote, "...destroying a village to save it". This "solution" does nothing to keep the bees from becoming diseased in the first place.
According to Dr. Jennifer Sass of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the study does not address what lowers bees` immunity to allow both diseases to occur simultaneously. She asks, "what is weakening the bees?"
The Usual Suspect Ignored
The NRDC sued the EPA in 2008, demanding that the EPA release Bayer`s test results for its top selling neonicotinoid pesticide. This type of pesticide is used to soak crop seeds, allowing the toxic agent to permeate the whole plant. It`s capable of killing all insects. The EPA had suspended its concerns of toxicity to bees and reversed its stance against Bayer`s neonicotinoid pesticide based solely on Bayer`s test results.
The tests claimed that the pesticide wouldn`t kill bees if used properly. But France and Italy, after suffering huge honey bee losses, banned neonicotinoids upon determining that even low sub lethal dosages completely disorient the bees. They lose their ability to gather pollen and return home to their hives. They mysteriously disappear, leaving behind empty hives.
In 2003, 13 bee keepers in the USA Dakotas area filed a class action suit against Bayer, claiming that large quantities of Bayer`s neonicotinoid, imidacloprid, had accumulated in their hives` bees wax and caused a 60 percent loss of their bees. Bees that were not dead were observed unable to function normally. The bee keepers` loss happened to occur after surrounding crop fields had used Bayer`s pesticide.
It seems the person who led the questionable study, Dr. Jerry Bromenshenk, is alleged to have more than one conflict of interest. He developed high tech scanning equipment to spot the diseased bees and created a company to sell the equipment. Even more intriguing is the fact that he had received funding for his study from Bayer.
It is alleged by some who really want to get to the bottom of CCD that publicizing Bromenshenk`s results would give the scientific community and the public a red herring to displace further scrutiny into pesticides. Bayer was enjoying a lot of sales revenue from imidacloprid.
Amazingly, Bromenshenk had originally signed on as an expert witness with the 13 bee keepers` class action suit against Bayer; then, he dropped out. Soon after, he received his funding from Bayer.
Now Dr. Daniel Mayer is involved as the expert witness for the beekeepers. His accurate findings from 17 bee fields were suspiciously excluded from the suit by a Judge in Pennsylvania. Endangering our food supply for immediate gain is increasing, and our government enables this.
Sources for more information
Petition to EPA for banning neonicotinoida http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees_usa/?c...
CCN/Fortune Report on What the Lead Researcher of CCD Report Didn`t Disclose by Katherine Eban http://money.cnn.com/2010/10/08/news/honey_b...
Who is Killing our Honey Bees http://www.healthiertalk.com/who-killing-our...
Bayer Pesticide Linked to CCD by David Gutierez http://www.naturalnews.com/024362_bees_Bayer...
UK Telegraph Report on CCD Study
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/beekeep...
Conflicts of Interest for Lead Researcher of CCD by Ethan Huff
http://www.naturalnews.com/030027_colony_col...
About the author
Paul Fassa is dedicated to warning others about the current corruption of food and medicine and guiding others toward a direction for better health with no restrictions on health freedom. You can visit his blog at http://healthmaven.blogspot.com
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