Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Arzeena Hamir <arzeenahamir@shaw.ca>]

I see that Health Canada is considering the registration of this pesticide. 
How insane!

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pest/part/consultations/_pmrl2010-54/pmrl2010-54-eng.php

There's still time if you want to write in and send your comments.

Arzeena Hamir MSc. P.Ag.
Coordinator
Richmond Food Security Society
http://richmondfoodsecurity.org
coordinator@richmondfoodsecurity.org
http://twitter.com/arzeena



On 2010-12-15, at 10:07 PM, Tradingpost wrote:

> 
> 
> Timeline of a Bee Massacre: EPA Still Allowing Hive-Killing Pesticide
> BY Ariel SchwartzTue Dec 14, 2010
> http://www.fastcompany.com/1709815/why-has-the-epa-allowed-a-bee-killing-pesticide-to-stay-on-the-market
> 
> Beekeepers across the U.S. are reporting record low honey crops as
> their bees fail to make it through the winter. One-third of American
> agriculture, which relies on bee pollination, is at stake. And the
> problem may be at least partially attributable to clothianidin, a
> Bayer-branded pesticide used on corn and other crops.
> 
> But as we revealed last week, the EPA knew that clothianidin could be
> toxic when the product came on the market in 2003. So why is it still
> on the market?
> 
> The bee-toxic pesticide problem can be traced back to 1994, when the
> first neonicotinoid pesticide (Imidacloprid) was released.
> Neonicotinoids like imidacloprid and clothianidin disrupt the central
> nervous system of pest insects, and are supposed to be relatively
> non-toxic to other animals. But there's a problem: The neonicotinoids
> coat plant seeds, releasing insecticides permanently into the plant.
> The toxins are then released in pollen and nectar--where they may
> cause bees to become disoriented and die.
> 
> After imidacloprid was released in France (under the name Gaucho) the
> number of bees in the country dropped rapidly, from 75 kg per hive
> down to 30 kg per hive between 1995 and 2001. France conducted an
> official study on the pesticide in 1998, but found no solid evidence
> that imidacloprid played a part in bee deaths. Nevertheless,
> Imidacloprid was banned for use on sunflowers and, later, sweet corn.
> 
> Enter clothianidin, a next-generation neonicotinoid released by Bayer
> in 2003. "In terms of the neonicotonoid family, clothianidin is one of
> the most toxic members," explains Dr. James Frazier, a professor of
> entomology at Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.
> 
> The EPA first brought up the link between clothianidin and bees before
> the pesticide's release in February 2003. The agency originally
> planned to withhold registration of the pesticide because of concerns
> about toxicity in bees, going so far as to suggest that the product
> come with a warning label (PDF): "This compound is toxic to honey
> bees. The persistance of residues and the expression clothianidin in
> nectar and pollen suggest the possibility of chronic toxic risk to
> honey bee larvae and the eventual stability of the hive."
> 
> But in April 2003, the EPA decided to give Bayer conditional
> registration. Bayer could sell the product and seed processors could
> freely use it, with the proviso that Bayer complete a life cycle study
> of clothianidin on corn by December 2004. Bayer was granted an
> extension until May 2005 (and permission to use canola instead of corn
> in its tests), but didn't complete the study until August 2007. The
> EPA continued to allow the sale of clothianidin, and once the Bayer
> study finally came out, it was flawed.
> 
> In a statement to the Pesticide Action Network, beekeeper Jeff
> Anderson explains:
> 
>    "The Bayer study is fatally flawed. It was an open field study
> with control and test plots of about 2 acres each. Bees typically
> forage at least 2 miles out from the hive, so it is likely they didn’t
> ingest much of the treated crops. And corn, not canola, is the major
> pollen-producing crop that bees rely on for winter nutrition.
> 
>    "This is a critical point because we see hive losses mainly after
> over-wintering, so there is something going on in these winter cycles.
> It’s as if they designed the study to avoid seeing clothianidin’s
> effects on hive health." [Emphasis ours]
> 
> The U.S. bee population didn't start dying off until 2005, says David
> Hackenberg, the beekeeper who first discovered Colony Collapse
> Disorder (CCD). "We started seeing problems where bees were
> disappearing in the fall. We blamed it on mites, viruses and a lot of
> other stuff because we didn't know what to blame it on."
> 
> But soon Hackenberg made the connection: bee die-off seemed to follow
> corn crop plantings so much that "you can follow the trail of this
> stuff to where bees are collapsing," says Hackenberg.
> 
> Frazier first started paying attention to the problem in 2007. "Ever
> since we started this work, the sheer magnitude of the use of
> neonicotonoids in the environment has always made them suspect for
> us," he explains.
> 
> Frazier and Hackenberg weren't alone in their concern. Germany
> suspended the use of neonicotinoids in 2008 after the misapplication
> of clothiandin by beekeepers in the Baden-Württemberg area caused the
> pesticide to get into the air. Two-third of the beekeepers' bees in
> the region died as a result (tests on dead bees showed that 99% had
> clothiandin build-up).
> 
> Italy also suspended the use of neonicotinoids in 2008. The country
> has evidence that the ban is saving bees. In 2009, Italy saw zero
> cases of bee mortality in apiaries surrounding neonicotinoid-free corn
> crops. Bee mortality had been an issue around corn crops in the
> country since 1999.
> 
> The EPA's response to these suspensions: "Several European countries
> have suspended the use of certain pesticides in response to incidents
> involving acute poisoning of honey bees. To EPA's knowledge, none of
> the incidents that led to suspensions have been associated with Colony
> Collapse Disorder."
> 
> And then came last week's news that the EPA recently conducted another
> study on clothiandin (PDF) in response to Bayer's request to use the
> pesticide on cotton and mustard (the chemical can currently be used on
> corn, canola, soy, sugar beets, sunflowers, and wheat).
> 
> The new study, unearthed by Colorado beekeeper Tom Theobald,
> invalidates Bayer's previous study, claiming that "after another
> review of this field study in light of additional information,
> deficiencies were identified that render the study supplemental. It
> does not satisfy the guideline 850.3040, and another field study is
> needed to evaluate the effects of clothianidin on bees through
> contaminated pollen and nectar." The study also warns that clothiandin
> is highly toxic to bees on both a contact and oral basis.
> 
> And yet, the EPA is continuing to allow the sale of clothiandin, even
> though the study that the agency based its decision on proved to be
> invalid. "It's a matter of perspective," says Frazier. "If the core
> study to judge registration is no longer considered a valid core
> study, do you allow continued use of something without good scientific
> data behind it? That's the choice that's been left to be made by the
> EPA."
> 
> Hackenberg doesn't think that the EPA will take action unless it's
> sued by a major environmental organization (note: in 2008, the NRDC
> sued the EPA to release Bayer's studies on neonicotinoid safety).
> Indeed, Hackenberg tells Fast Company that an EPA official recently
> told him that clothiandin is still on the market in part because of
> fears that Bayer would sue the agency if it is removed.
> 
> "I was at the EPA yesterday," Hackenberg says. "They keep telling us
> that bee scientists have to prove to the EPA that there's a problem.
> The problem is that the EPA is supposed to protect the environment,
> it's their responsibility to make sure that the chemical companies are
> doing their job."
> 
> No one can say for sure that neonicotinoids alone are causing bees to
> die off--many more studies have to be done. But the EPA would do well
> to err on the side of caution for the beekeepers who are rapidly
> losing their bees. Tom Theobald, for example, saw his smallest honey
> crop in 35 years of beekeeping, and Hackenberg claims that he has
> talked to beekeepers across the country who have lost up to 90% of
> their output this year.
> 
> Is it really worth waiting to find out what happens if the EPA doesn't
> take neonicotinoids off the market? There isn't time to waste.
> Clothiandin has a half-life of 19 years in heavy soils favored by
> farmers.
> 
> The EPA has not responded to our requests for comment.
> 
> Earlier: Wik-Bee Leaks: EPA Document Shows It Knowingly Allowed
> Pesticide That Kills Honey Bees
> 
> Beekeeper Who Leaked EPA Documents: "I Don't Think We Can Survive This 
> Winter"
> 
> 
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