Department of Agriculture rejects banning the neonicotinoid pesticides that’s related to colony collapse of bees
In the last few years, sudden disappearance of bees has concerned many environmentalists and farmers, since one third of the world food supply directly depend on bees. According to CBS news, the commercial beekeeper James Doan said that “Every day and you'll look and you'll see 100 to 200 bees dead in front of the hive. Maybe even to the point of 40 to 50,000 bees laying out in the front of the hive, which is not normal." He also mentioned that ”people need to really be aware that bees are so important, not just for honey production, but for pollination in the United States."
The rate of colony collapse of bees was between 5 to 10 percent a year but after the year 2006, the rate has tripled and has caused a phenomenon known as colony collapse of bees. Today, some beekeepers are losing up to 50% of their hives.
James Doan told CBS news that without bees we have to pay higher prices for fruits and vegetables and higher prices don’t necessarily mean better quality products. “Many blame a class of pesticide called neonicotinoids, or "neonics." Doan said, "They block the nerve endings of the bee, and so the bee is paralyzed and then what happens is they starve to death, so you see the bee shaking, and it's a very horrific way of dying for a bee."
EPA slapped with lawsuit over the ongoing deaths of bees:
Recently, James Doan joined the coalition of beekeepers, Pesticide Action Network and environmentalists that sued the Environmental Protection Agency who failed to ban neonicotinoid pesticides. According to CBS News the lawsuit claims that "EPA is well aware of recent studies and reports illustrating the risks to honey bees, but has refused to take any regulatory action."
The trade organization that’s representing the pesticide companies is called “Croplife America” and Jay Vroom, the chief excusive officer of the company told CBS News that “There are critics of our industry that may not be informed by the most complete set of facts or scientific understanding, and we really think that that's where most of these challenges are coming from right now."
The European Union including Germany, France and Italy have banned neonicotinoids class of pesticides, however, the EPA and Department of Agriculture cannot find enough reasons to immediately ban all neonicotinoid pesticides:
The neonicotinoid class of pesticides includes imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam. More and more evidence are growing that neonicotinoid pesticides are playing an important role on the rapid decline of bees’ population.
Besides harming bees, the new studies suggest that neonicotinoid pesticides can also be harmful to human’s health; however, in the land of for the profit, these poisons are regulated by the governmental agencies.
As mentioned before, neonicotinoid pesticides remain in every part of the plant including roots, pollen, leaves and nectar and if bees, pests or bugs drink water from the plants’ droplets, the neurotoxin kills them right away. http://www.seattleorganicrestaurants.com/vegan-whole-food/systemic-pesticides-nitroguanidine.php
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should have never approved these toxic groups of pesticides produced by the giant chemical company, Bayer
According to MotherEarthNews, the neonicotinoid group of pesticides went on the market in 2003 after being granted a “conditional registration” from EPA which means EPA will allow the use of these pesticides despite the fact that there is not enough evidence to show that they are safe.
Leaked memos written by EPA scientists also stated that studies submitted by Bayer were poorly run and the scientists openly admitted that neonicotinoid pesticides can harm bees. http://www.seattleorganicrestaurants.com/vegan-whole-food/Russia-warns-Obama-Monsanto-EPA-sued-over-bee-loss.php
In fact, numerous studies including a recent one by Harvard University shows how neonicotinoids are the primary cause of colony collapse of bees. According to MotherEarthNews, the leader of the research, Chensheng Lu said that “It apparently doesn’t take much of the pesticide to affect the bees. Our experiment included pesticide amounts below what is normally present in the environment.”
Also, in 2012, a Japanese study showed that neonicotinoids affect the brain development in mammals and the researchers warned that “detailed investigation of the neonicotinoids is needed to protect the health of human children.”
However, despite the compelling evidence, the state Department of Agriculture fails to put a restriction in use of neonicotinoid pesticides that have been related to colony collapse of bees
According to yakimaherald.com, the state Department of Agriculture has rejected to ban the use of neonicotinoid pesticides related to deaths of bees. Once again, the US Department of Agriculture practices its ignorance and fails to ban the use of neonicotinoid pesticides while the European Union has recently imposed a two-year ban on neonics.
“There is currently no documented evidence that the use of the neonicotinoid insecticides on ornamental plants is causing a significant adverse effect on honey bee colony health in Washington state,” said Bud Hover, the new Director of the state Department of Agriculture. “Because it has not been established that this use is a significant contributor to the decline of honey bee colonies in Thurston County or elsewhere in the state, the proposed use restrictions are not appropriate at this time.”
The law makers who are consumed by power and greed should know that killing honeybees is like shooting ourselves in the foot:
One third of what we eat directly depends on honeybees and the other two thirds also indirectly depend on bees. Disappearance of bees will start a chain reaction where the livelihood of other animals and species will be threatened.
I understand that Bayer will lose billions of dollars if EPA bans the use of neonicotinoid insecticides. But that hasn’t been the case so far and greed and power has taken over logic in Washington. The legislators who are officially on the payroll of the giant chemical and biotech companies should know that passing such laws represents their full incompetence and ignorance and endangers the livelihood of bees as well as other species.
Resources:
http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/yhr/friday/1210046-8/state-ag-department-rejects-ban-on-pesticides
