Pesticide ban to protect bees enters into force

[Second Summer]

As of December 1, farmers in the European Union will no longer be able to make large-scale use of pesticides suspected of killing bee populations. But the busy honey-makers remain under threat.
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The ban, approved by the European Commission in April of this year, affects three pesticides from the group of the so-called neonicotinoids: clothianidin and imidacloprid, which are manufactured by the German company Bayer, and thiamethoxam, made by the Swiss manufacturer Syngenta.

Full article: Pesticide ban to protect bees enters into force (Deutsche Welle, 1. Dec. 2013)

The ban is only on a trial basis, initially for 2 years. Greenpeace criticises it, saying the ban is full of loopholes and doesn't go far enough to make a real difference.

 

[ledboots]

I hope it helps to some degree. I'm very worried about the bees.

 

[Clueless Git]

This has been getting my goat for quite a while ...

The widespread decline of any insect(s) in countries that employ widespread use of insecticides is NOT a mystery.

 

[Everleigh]

I suppose it's some kind of start which is good.

 

[Mischief]

It is unlikely that colony collapse disorder is caused by a single factor. The more that is learned about it, the more it appears that it is due to a confluence of factors, only one of which is the use of pesticides.

The problem is that if everyone buys into an assumption that pesticides are THE cause of CCD, then when a trial discontinuation of pesticide use fails to turn the situation around, people will jump to the assumption that pesticides are O.K.

 

[Second Summer]

The largest study so far on the fraught question of whether neonicotinoid pesticides harm bees is providing new ammunition for those who argue against the use of the controversial chemicals.

The large-scale field study found that overall, exposure to neonicotinoids harms bee populations. In particular, the pesticides reduce honeybees’ ability to survive their winter hibernation, say researchers.

More: http://www.nature.com/news/largest-ever-study-of-controversial-pesticides-finds-harm-to-bees-1.22229 (29. June 2017)

The study was funded mainly by Bayer CropScience and Syngenta, and they're very unhappy about the study's conclusions. The EU is set to make a decision later this year on whether to remove or extend the ban on these pesticides.

 

[Second Summer]

A total ban on bee-harming pesticides being used across Europe will be supported by the UK, the Environment Secretary has said.

In a reversal of the Government's previous position on neonicotinoid pesticides, Michael Gove said new evidence indicated the risk to bees and other insects was “greater than previously understood”.

More: The UK just banned pesticides harmful to bees (9. November 2017)

 

[Mark Mywordz]

I saw a documentary on German TV this week which claimed that 75 percent of the insects in Germany have been killed off as a result of crop spraying in Germany. It's not just about honey. Bees and other insects pollinate plants. So the end result could be a mass extinction of the plants we eat. Plants are at the bottom of the food chain, which means that most animals could die off too, so you wouldn't be able to revert to eating animals!

 

[MadamSarcastra]

EU To 'Completely Ban' Outdoor Use Of Pesticides Blamed For Devastating Bees

 

[Brian W]

How bad is the bee situation? My wife believes I should support bee keepers rather than be totally vegan but I feel I would like more information first.

 

[Val]

How bad is the bee situation? My wife believes I should support bee keepers rather than be totally vegan but I feel I would like more information first.

I'm not sure about crop spraying, but after i'd had a chance to see the bees closer than average people are supposed to, i will never ever eat honey. (ETA: if i could eat honey,- but i can't digest it, so...): when we were in Northern Caucasus and went to mount Fisht, we had a stop at Babakaul - the one of outposts of forestry officers. They kept bees. We were preparing to have dinner with them, and they were "kind enough" to show us the bees, who were drinking running water from the faucet and from the sink. They say that caucasian bee is the most kind and clever bee in the world, but i could never imagine that they would have been so intellegent: they were sitting on me, sniffing me and touching my open body parts with their proboscises. They were friendly and curious, and no one had bitten me. Of course, it's better if you stay calm and don't wave your hands, raise voice, act nervously or push on them. But i was astonished by the way they were communicating with each other. I think we underestimate the bees' intellect (the same is with all the animals exploited by humans). But i decided i would never eat honey.

 

[MadamSarcastra]

How bad is the bee situation? My wife believes I should support bee keepers rather than be totally vegan but I feel I would like more information first.

Well, I don't consume honey & I stopped using stuff containing beeswax... but we all need bees! So maybe being in support of bee-keepers isn't a bad thing, as long as they're helping bees survive....

 

[Mark Mywordz]

I agree with Madam S. I don't eat honey but my main reason is that it is very high in calories. Exploitation of animals and human beings is not always harmful. People on the dole are not exploited but who would want to be on the dole and those of us who work or have worked as an employee are often grateful for the exploitation. Some beekeepers are better than others too.