The European Commission will proceed with its plan to protect bees with a ban on neonicotinoid insecticides after a vote on Monday failed to block the measure. In the U.S., however, farmers can still use these chemicals that act like potent insect nerve agents.
Fifteen of the 27 European Union (EU) member states voted in favor of a two-year ban of three common insecticides, clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiametoxam. These compounds have proved toxic to bees, with several independent, well-designed scientific studies linking concentrations common in farm fields to erratic behavior in bees.
Neonicotinoids and bees just don't seem to mix. This class of insecticides causes brain damage in honeybees, causing them to forget what food smells like. Often, the bees can't function well enough to forage for food and find their way home to the hive. These are classic symptoms of colony collapse disorder (CCD), the label given to the catastrophic population crash in honeybees that has come to light in the past few years.
The European Commission plan involves stopping the use of three key neonicotinoids on grain and plant crops that attract bees for a period of two years. Farmers won't be able to use these products for seed coatings, as leaf sprays, or as granules applied to the soil. The organization plans to implement the ban no later than December 1, 2013.
Read More: How Bee Deaths Impact Grocery Bills
During the ban, scientists will collect new data to determine whether keeping these products out of fields helps honeybee populations to bounce back. The EU's decision has merits in two ways, explains Chensheng Lu, PhD, associate professor of environmental exposure biology at the Harvard School of Public Health. "It directly responds to the ongoing losses of honeybee population," he says. "While many measures have been taken to better manage honeybee health since the occurrence of CCD, the continuing losses of honeybees worldwide highlight the persistent presence of the cause in the environment." Secondly, he says, the proposed two-year ban will yield evidence as to whether bee populations will be healthier in the absence of neonicotinoids. "It fits to the precautionary principle," he says. For the greatest impact, though, he calls for a coordinated ban of neonicotinoids worldwide for a period of time to reveal whether the insecticides are responsible for CCD. "I would argue that losing honeybees would cost more jobs and threaten healthy economic growth more than protecting this single group of insecticides," he adds. To help honeybees in the U.S., write to your representatives in Congress, telling them pollination is vital to food security and the economy, and asking them to ban the neonicotinoid insecticides that are threatening these creatures who pollinate our crops. Demanding organic also helps, since these chemicals are banned in organic farming.
Read More: How Bee Deaths Impact Grocery Bills
During the ban, scientists will collect new data to determine whether keeping these products out of fields helps honeybee populations to bounce back. The EU's decision has merits in two ways, explains Chensheng Lu, PhD, associate professor of environmental exposure biology at the Harvard School of Public Health. "It directly responds to the ongoing losses of honeybee population," he says. "While many measures have been taken to better manage honeybee health since the occurrence of CCD, the continuing losses of honeybees worldwide highlight the persistent presence of the cause in the environment." Secondly, he says, the proposed two-year ban will yield evidence as to whether bee populations will be healthier in the absence of neonicotinoids. "It fits to the precautionary principle," he says. For the greatest impact, though, he calls for a coordinated ban of neonicotinoids worldwide for a period of time to reveal whether the insecticides are responsible for CCD. "I would argue that losing honeybees would cost more jobs and threaten healthy economic growth more than protecting this single group of insecticides," he adds. To help honeybees in the U.S., write to your representatives in Congress, telling them pollination is vital to food security and the economy, and asking them to ban the neonicotinoid insecticides that are threatening these creatures who pollinate our crops. Demanding organic also helps, since these chemicals are banned in organic farming.
