April 29, 2013 – Today was a good day. Today the European Commission voted to ban
the use of a class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids for two years. Fifteen countries voted for the ban, which is
not enough to constitute a “qualified majority.” That’s the reason for the ban’s two year
duration. The moratorium applies to all
member nations of the European Union, and England, and will begin no later than
December 1 of this year. It does not
apply to crops that do not attract bees, or to winter crops. Because it is the seed that is treated, the
sale and use of seeds – primarily of corn, soy and canola - are prohibited. Furthermore, none of this type of pesticide
can be sold to amateur growers.
Back in January, the European Food Safety Authority issued a
statement regarding the unacceptability of neonicotinoids because of the danger
they pose to bees. Research has found
that these pesticides impair bees’ ability to navigate, forage, and communicate;
disturb their procreative rhythms, weaken their immune systems, and leave
colonies unable to overcome natural threats such as mites and fungi! Small wonder that these tiny creatures have succumbed
to what we ourselves refuse to acknowledge: the chemicals that play such a
prominent role in our world will one day be the death of us all. (For further information regarding chemicals
that do great harm, see the article just posted yesterday at www.tomdispatch.com , written by Gerald Markowitz and David
Rosner.)
In looking at how slow we have been to respond to this
crisis, you would never know that 35 percent of the world’s food crops depend
on bees. According to a 2012 literature
review undertaken by scientists writing for the journal Ecotoxicology, these crops have an annual value of $200
billion. Bee populations are declining
by 30 percent every year. Is $60 billion
really so easy to come by? Based upon
our behavior, one would think so.
It would be unfair not to mention that some restrictions are
already in force in France, Germany, Italy, and Slovenia. This becomes particularly important in light
of the fact that companies like Bayer and Syngenta – manufacturers of
neonicotinoids – like to threaten that, without these newer products, a return
to the older, more harmful pesticides previously used is inevitable. Parties on the other side of the debate
respond by pointing to the fact that this has not happened in France, Germany,
or Italy (there are no known results for Slovenia), and that natural pest
predators and crop rotation have been proven very effective.
Here in the United States, we continue to drag our
feet. The EPA rejected a petition
calling for a ban on the sale of Clothianidin, one of the pesticides soon to be
banned in the E.U. How determined is the
EPA to ignore the manifest hazards imposed by these chemicals? So determined that they have promised to
issue an evaluation of neonicotinoid safety in 2018. That’s right, 2018. This date is a reflection of the American
people’s determination to ignore the fact that Bayer and Syngenta carry the EPA
around in their collective hip pocket.
It’s a very convenient arrangement.
With thanks to the BBC News and Grist.
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