EPA RULING ON BEE-KILLING PESTICIDE DRAWS CONTROVERSY

Top scientist claims evidence of neonicotinoids harming bees was silenced by agrochemical companies

By Brigitte Garcia

January 13, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week issued a ruling that neonicotinoids used on cotton and citrus crops harm bees -- but the same pesticide used on other crops does not, Associated Press reports. Some bee experts have argued that neonicotinoids are a major cause of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). The controversial statement pleased neither environmentalists concerned over bee declines, nor Bayer, the maker of neonicotinoids.

“The report fails to illuminate the risks from a variety of areas, it ignores some the greatest uses of neonicotinoids,” said Paul Towers, spokesman for the Pesticide Action Network. “It only provides a piecemeal view of the threat, given that whole plant pesticides have far larger impacts. The EPA is missing the big picture of the cocktail of pesticides put on plants.”

The consumer health advocate added, “This report is a cause for concern but what the EPA has failed to acknowledge is also very concerning, not just for honeybees but all bees and the entire food system that rests upon them. The EPA should follow the path of Europe and suspend the use of imidacloprid.”

Bayer Vice President Dana Sargent said in a statement, “The EPA appears to overestimate the potential for harmful exposures in certain crops" and ignore its benefits. "With hundreds of studies conducted and their demonstrated safe use on farmland across the country, we know more about the safe use of neonics to honeybees than any other pesticide."

Colony Collapse Disorder has been around since 2006; since then we’ve seen a drastic decline in the bee population. The source of this problem has been linked to a group of pesticides called neonicotinoids, and since 2012 they have constantly been under investigation for bee harmful qualities. Neonicotinoids are nerve-based pesticides; they scramble the brains of insects and have been known to effect on all bees. This causes bees to forget flight routes, meaning they can't make it back to their hives. They have also been shown to weaken bees’ immune systems. Not only are neonicotinoids dangerous for bees’ health, they're also addictive. True to their name,  these pesticides are made with nicotine and bees become addicted, craving more.

Neonicotinoids are used to treat seeds and soil, not  blooming crops on which bees feed. But evidence of Clothianidin and imidacloprid, chemicals from the neonicotinoid family, have been found inside the hives of dead colonies. When this evidence came to light, protests and campaigns started around the world to remove the chemicals from stores and to help save the bees. They have made little difference besides warning labels -- until beekeepers from the United Kingdom started a petition to ban farmers from using the controversial pesticide. It received over one million signatures and the European Union (EU) made the decision to impose a two-year ban, even though many farmers claimed that more than just pesticides are responsible for killing bees. The ban was set for two years and was seen as a victory that  hopefully would result in more conclusive research.

But last summer, the ban was lifted due to an “emergency” request made by the National farmers Union (NFU). The farmers worried about other insects ruining their crops--specifically, the cabbage stem flea beetle, which is a major problem concerning the oil rapeseed crop used to make canola oil. The EU has allowed farmers to use neonicotinoids on 5 percent of the oil rapeseed crop to protect against the cabbage stem flea. Many people are upset over this decision and cannot believe the EU lifted the ban. But it may be they had not seen all the of the research.

Reports from Bee Culture Magazine bring up Jonathan Lundgren, a senior research entomologist  with the U.S. Department of Agricultural whose research on those pesticides has been silenced. Lundgren has filed a whistleblower lawsuit claiming that he has been the target of harassment for speaking out on the dangers posed by neonicotinoids to bees.

When the NFU first sent its request to lift the ban, the EU wanted to make the decision based on science. Lundgren’s research linked these same pesticides to the possible demise of the monarch butterfly, another pollinator being affected. He also found that there are no big benefits from using neonicotinoids. After submitting this evidence to the EU, Lundgren was suspended from his research and his studies were closed.

Bayer is an agrochemical company most responsible for neonicotinoids. They have repeatedly said that neonicotinoids are either not the problem or not the only problem.  Climate change, parasites, and diseases are also considered to contribute to Colony Collapse Disorder. Studies supporting this are usually funded by Bayer or Syngenta, another agrochemical company.  Critics have said that two of the agrochemical company studies did not use enough pesticides or big enough fields, making the data questionable. Other studies not associated with the agrochemical  industry produced inconclusive data and some were also questioned and deemed unrealistic due to larger amounts of pesticides used.

The debate of what is causing Colony Collapse Disorder is still open. Meanwhile the impacts continue to be vast. In 1947 there was about 6 million bee colonies but today there are only 2.5 million colonies left. Honeybees are responsible for pollinating one-sixth of all plant species and four hundred different types of crops.  Losing bees would result in losing one-third of our staple foods, which would also cause an enormous monetary loss. We need answers, because the one fact that stands indisputable is we cannot not live without bees.