{"id":15207,"date":"2018-03-18T18:23:52","date_gmt":"2018-03-18T18:23:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honeybeehaven.org\/?p=15207"},"modified":"2018-04-17T18:25:40","modified_gmt":"2018-04-17T18:25:40","slug":"pollinator-protection-goes-global","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honeybeehaven.org\/pollinator-protection-goes-global\/","title":{"rendered":"Pollinator protection goes global"},"content":{"rendered":"
The last few weeks have seen encouraging momentum around the world in protecting bees and other pollinators from harmful pesticides. As bees are responsible for pollinating <\/span>one out of every three bites<\/a> of food we eat \u2014 making them key actors in our food system \u2014 this news is extremely welcome.<\/p> For years, independent scientific research has shown that neonicotinoid pesticides (or neonics) pose a serious danger to bees and other pollinators, both through acute poisonings and effects from chronic exposure. Documented <\/span>impacts of these pesticides<\/a> on bees include impaired memory and learning, disorientation, shortened adult life cycles and compromised immune response.<\/p> Policies have lagged behind this scientific evidence \u2014\u00a0but last week, encouraging news came out of the European Union (EU). After analyzing more than 1,500 studies, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) officially concluded that neonics <\/span>pose a serious danger<\/a> to both honeybees and wild bees.<\/p> Agrichemical giant Syngenta, a neonic manufacturer, was unsurprisingly dissatisfied with the finding, asserting that EFSA\u2019s conclusions went too far. But scientists and environmentalists were thrilled with the announcement, speculating that the new finding will strengthen the likelihood of a neonic ban in the EU \u2014 as draft regulations for a ban were already <\/span>revealed in March of 2017<\/a>.<\/p> In exciting legal action across the Atlantic, a class-action lawsuit against neonicotinoid producers Bayer and Syngenta has been <\/span>given the go-ahead<\/a> to proceed to trial by the Quebec Superior Court.<\/p> A queen bee breeder named Steve Martineau launched the suit after observing more and more of his bees dying or being incapacitated. Upon testing them, he found traces of neonics. Martineau is seeking $20,000 in damages, and his lawyer said they\u2019re suing on behalf of all Quebec beekeepers whose bees were non-productive or killed.<\/span><\/p> This ruling comes after even more scientific evidence against the use of neonicotinoid pesticides was published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research, concluding that the chemicals are for the most part \u201cuseless and ineffective.\u201d And just one day before the lawsuit was given the green light, the Quebec provincial government introduced new restrictions on pesticides considered harmful to honeybees, including neonics.<\/span><\/p>Neonics no more<\/span><\/h3>
Beekeepers have had it<\/span><\/h3>
Momentum is building<\/span><\/h3>