NEONICOTINOID PESTICIDES: A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR BEES By Ross Conrad

Ross Conrad

Ross Conrad 

In June 2014 President Obama issued a memorandum creating a Pollinator Health Task Force. Co-chaired by the USDA and the EPA it was charged with creating a national pollinator health strategy to promote the health of pollinators, including honey bees…

NEONICOTINOID PESTICIDES: A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR BEES, PART I

The often heard refrain that Varroa is the primary cause of colony losses associated with CCD is simply not supported by the evidence.

NEONICOTINOID PESTICIDES: A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR BEES, PART II

Harm to Birds and other wild pollinators –

The science is in…

NEONICOTINOID PESTICIDES: A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR BEES, PART III

The dose response characteristics of neonicotinoid insecticides turn out to be identical to those of genotoxic carcinogens, which are the most dangerous substances we know. Such poisons can have detrimental effects at any concentration level.

If you still think our primary problem is Varroa, poor nutrition, habitat destruction, etc., and don’t believe that pesticides are one of the primary issues, if not THE primary issue, for beekeepers today…think again.

NEONICOTINOID PESTICIDES: A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR BEES, PART IV

So far in this series, we’ve established that hyper-toxic neonicotinoids are severely damaging wild pollinator populations, and numerous studies showing these pesticides harm Honey Bees are stacking up like cord wood. Unfortunately, the evidence is also quite clear that neonicotinoids are harming honey bees in the field, as well as in the lab, and thus devastating colonies in much the same way as the wild pollinators.

NEONICOTINOID PESTICIDES: A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR BEES, PART V

So far in this series, we have established that neonicotinoid pesticides are hyper-toxic to bees, exposure is occurring in the field to both wild and managed bee populations, the beekeeping industry is being negatively impacted, and there is a correlation between neonicotinoid use and pollinator decline. The question that arises is “How can this be, given the stringent regulatory environment that exists in the United States?” It turns out that the U.S. EPA and USDA regulatory process regarding pesticides that are supposed to protect human and environmental health is fatally flawed and corrupted. The evidence suggests that the pesticide regulatory process in the U.S. is nothing more than an elaborate scheme to provide legal cover for toxic chemical manufacturers so they can avoid taking responsibility for the devastation their products create.

NEONICOTINOID PESTICIDES: A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR BEES, PART VI

If you still think pesticides are not as big a concern as other issues like Varroa mites, you haven’t been paying attention.

Last month we explored some of the evidence indicating pesticide regulation in the U.S. is fraught with fake science, corruption, and manipulation. Unfortunately, this is not new and attempts to reform our regulatory agencies have occurred over and over, always with failed results. In this last installment of this series, we look at why has this been the case.

Regulated Industries Take Over

It turns out that once the constitutional separation of powers is ignored and legislative, executive, and judicial authority are all concentrated in one regulatory agency, it makes it easier for it to be corrupted by the industry it regulates – all industry has to do is exert its influence upon it and take it over. This is the experience of William Sanjour, a 30-year veteran of the U.S. EPA who wrote the Independent Science News article titled: Designed to Fail: Why Regulatory Agencies Don’t Work.