Top European Union (EU) health officials on Thursday proposed a partial ban on three common pesticides thought to harm bees, a critical link in the global food chain. The move by the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, comes in the wake of a report issued earlier this month by the EU's top food safety watchdog, which determined the chemicals pose a number of risks to the honey bees that farmers across the world depend on to pollinate their crops. Environmentalists and pesticide opponents have suspected for years that the three pesticides – clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam – are responsible for declining bee populations and massive bee die-offs in the United States and abroad. Environmental and food safety groups in the US are now urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to follow the European example and suspend the most dangerous uses of the pesticides while speeding up reviews of their safety. "EPA cannot continue to condone the use of chemicals responsible for the wholesale killing of our pollinators and the irreparable damage of the US food supply," said Peter Jenkins, an attorney for the US-based watchdog group the Center for Food Safety (CFS). "Many of the most scientifically and agriculturally advanced nations have seen the dangers these neonicotinoids present and are reacting," said Jenkins. "The question is, why isn't the US?"
The EPA has initiated reviews of commonly used neonicotinoid pesticides, but the reviews may not be completed until as late as 2018. Last year, several members of Congress, including Rep. Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts), asked the EPA to expedite the reviews and investigate the link between neonicotinoids and declining bee populations.
"The proverb, 'No bees, no honey, no work, no money,' may become all too true if we don't investigate the impact of pesticides on our valuable honeybee population," Markey said at the time. "Bees are vital to our nation's economy and food security."
The European Commission announced (31 January 2013) its position against the use of neonicotinoid insecticides, pushing nations within the European Union (EU) to impose a two year suspension on their use. The proposal, put forward at a meeting of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health, would restrict the application of neonicotinoids as granules, seed-treatment or spray, on crops that are attractive to bees, particularly, sunflowers, rapeseed, corn, cotton, and cereal crops. Environmental groups say that this decision should signal the way forward for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to suspend neonicotinoids in the U.S.
"It's a great thing," said New York beekeeper Jim Doan, "I'm hoping that the EPA follows in their footsteps. While I recognize our government works differently, it says something that the European government has recognized the overwhelming data on the impact of these pesticides."
The announcement comes on the heels of research conducted by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) which indicated that three neonicotinoid insecticides—imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam, produced by Switzerland's Syngenta and Germany's Bayer, pose an unacceptable hazards to honey bees.
In its report released January 16 th, EFSA concludes that systemic contamination of neonicotinoid-treated crops, neonicotinoid dust exposure, and contaminated nectar and pollen contributes to declines in honey bees and weakens their hives. High risks were also identified from exposure to guttation fluid from corn for thiamethoxam.
"Independent science increasingly points to pesticides, especially neonicotinoids, as a critical factor in honeybee declines. Europe's action, based on this growing body of research, should spur EPA to impose new restrictions on these pesticides," said Paul Towers, a spokesperson for Pesticide Action Network North America.
In light of these findings, the EU Commission is urging member states to suspend neonicotinoid treatment on crops that are considered attractive to bees, i.e. flowering crops. Commission health spokesman Frederic Vincent indicated that, "We hope the regulation can be adopted before March," and at the latest by July 1, 2013.
"Our declining U.S. honey bees, bumblebees and other pollinators, and of course our struggling beekeepers nationwide, need at least the same protections from the far-too-deadly neonicotinoids as their European counterparts are getting," said Peter Jenkins, attorney at the Center for Food Safety.
Beekeepers and environmental groups including the Center for Food Safety, Beyond Pesticides, and Pesticide Action Network North America, filed an emergency legal petition in 2012 with the EPA seeking an immediate halt to the use of clothianidin until adequate studies have been completed and safeguards put in place. The agency denied the petition and is considering other less immediate action.
Sources:
Truthout, 4 February 2013
http://truth-out.org/news/item/14263-epa-urged-to-take-action-as-eu-pre…
Melodika, 4 February 2013
http://www.melodika.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=58538…
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