New Info on Colony Collapse Disorder

Tue Aug 19, 2008 5:55 pm

Apologies if this thread is felt to be misplaced, but we have no Forum for "Threats to World Sources of Food." Thank heavens...

A front-page article in the San Francisco Chronicle this morning is headlined, "Suit demands EPA data on pesticides and bees." Subhead: "Environmental group suspects chemical is linked to decline."

Key sentence: "The Natural Resource Defense Council wants to see the studies that the EPA required when it approved a pesticide made by Bayer CropScience five years ago."

The pesticide in question is clothianidin, which is "used to coat corn, sugar beet and sorghum seeds and is part of a class of pesticides called neonicotinoids. The pesticide was blamed for bee deaths in France and Germany, which also are dealing with a colony collapse. Those two countries have suspended its use until further study."

The writer of this article is Jane Kay; linked-in supplemental info is available at

links.sfgate.com/ZEOF
links.sfgate.com/ZEO/
links.sfgate.com/ZEOG

If the NRDC's beliefs are validated in court, the withheld studies would explain why the causes of CCD have been so difficult to pin down--scientists, researchers, and beekeepers have not been in possession of all the facts/pieces of the puzzle.

One-third of the human diet is dependent on bee pollination, according to the article. If you're a vegetarian, perhaps more than one-third.

It's been an interesting 12 hours here at the H. household--soil (NatGeo) and insects (CCD). The tiny, sometimes invisible, links in the web of life are at long last needing care themselves, after having taken care of humanity for millennia.

Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17

Tue Aug 19, 2008 7:56 pm

That is a great find, thanks for bringing that to our attention. There are alot of other products and technologies out there that have not been tested because they sidestep testing requirements. Even if the label says "natural" or "safe" those words are only as good as the research into the environmental effects behind them.

Thu Aug 21, 2008 2:05 am

Cynthia,

Thank you for posting this info. So many things are affected by "our" lack of respect for the earth and All of its inhabitants. In most cases the desire to make more money seems to blind people to everything else.

May I suggest posting this thread in the Vegetable Gardening Forum as well? More people need to be aware of the dangers of pesticides.

Here is the link to the Natural Resource Defense Council's website:
http://www.nrdc.org/ It will be a good place to check for updates.

The direct link to their Press Release is:
http://www.nrdc.org/media/2008/080818a.asp

Thank you, again for doing your part in informing the members of this forum about this issue! We all need to protect our environment and the creatures that share it. Ultimately it is for the good of all.