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Saturday, January 8, 2011

They're just bees, and it's OUR money

A shocking report (ok, not really shocking given this stuff happens all the time now), suggests a conspiracy to generate profit for a major corporation, even with knowledge that the result could be massive honey bee death.

From the article: "a leaked Environmental Protection Agency document ... has conservationists, environmentalists and beekeepers abuzz.

"The November 2nd memo, leaked to a Colorado beekeeper, indicates that the EPA was well-aware that the pesticide Clothianidin posed some serious risks to honey bees. There have been concerns about this chemical from as far back as 2003, and it's already been banned in Germany, France, Italy and Slovenia because of its toxicity. But the EPA chose to sweep all that under the rug to keep the pesticide on the market.

"Clothianidin, marketed as 'Poncho' by Bayer, is widely used on corn, as well as canola, soy, sugar beets, sunflowers and wheat. As if the $262 million cash crop from last year wasn't enough, Bayer wants to keep expanding the pesticide's use. And the company's original registration was based on some seriously flawed science: they evaluated the wrong crop, with the wrong controls to assess the impact on bees.

"This all adds up to some serious questions about the government contributing to Colony Collapse Disorder as they knowingly allowed Bayer to poison bees. And this is about a lot more than honey production ... native habitats, and as much as one-third of America's food supply, rely on the pollination provided by bees."

Looks like Bayer, known for its aspirin (but also a serious drug dealer back in the day), will do anything to make money. Even if it means killing bees, which can produce serious environmental consequences for all of us.


http://animals.change.org/blog/view/wikileaks_uncovers_government_bee_killing_conspiracy

1 comment:

  1. Damn, thanks for this info. My dad had between 5 and 7 hives for most of my childhood. I hate hornets, but I love bees. I even used to rescue them from our pool with my bare hands as a kid in Miami. Now, as an organic gardener, I rely on them to put the veggies in my garden.

    I had heard that there was a possible connection between nicotine-based pesticides and CCD, but with so many theories out there, I did not realize that the EPA had pinpointed such a direct cause.

    I will join the petition. Thanks again, Matt.

    ReplyDelete