Syngenta has written to farm ministers in France and The Netherlands to urge them to vote down an EU proposal to ban neonicotinoid pesticides. Both countries have voiced their opposition against the continued use of neonicotinoids, which some scientists have linked to declining bee populations. The letter claims that the varroa mite and the diseases it transmits are the "principal causes of bee health". It asks why countries such as Scotland and Switzerland have poor bee health, despite their very limited use of neonicotinoid seed treatment. However, bee populations in Australia, where neonicotinoids are widely used, are "thriving". In its letter, Syngenta claims the EFSA evaluation on Cruiser (thiamethoxam) ignored key field studies and found "no unacceptable or unmanageable risks to bee populations". "Given the fact that thiamethoxam has been used on millions of hectares of French crops without damaging the health of bees over the past X years, it's no surprise that EFSA acknowledged that its latest theoretical evaluation contained a 'high level of uncertainty'," the letter says. Later this month, member states will be asked to vote on an European Commission proposal for a two-year ban on the use of neonicotinoids on crops considered attractive to bees, such as oilseed rape, maize, sunflowers and cotton. France and The Netherlands support a ban, but the UK, Germany and Spain are understood to be against it. If enough countries vote against the proposal, a blocking minority of votes could derail a ban. An industry source said: "For the proposal to be passed, there has to be a qualified majority - around two-thirds of the vote. The bigger EU countries have more votes than the smaller EU countries. If you were to get Spain, Germany and the UK to vote against a ban, then you would be running very close to a blocking minority."
Source: Farmers Weekly, 7 February 2013
http://www.fwi.co.uk/articles/07/02/2013/137549/syngenta-urges-france-t…
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Australian beekeeper Jeffrey Gibbs comments
The days of empty boxes being filled by swarms are over. Unless your bees are on a Eucalyptus honey flow or in native forests, it seems you are in trouble. The rate of recent use of Neonics is unprecedented in Australia's pesticide history; the growth in use amounts to a complete take over of most of our major crops here. Beekeepers are running away from canola (oilseed rape) for the first time in history, we used to run towards it! I can only see a downward spiral, Australian beekeepers are mostly older and the art of generational beekeeping is almost a myth.
Neonicotinoids are used everywhere; there have never been any field tests in Australian conditions, to observe the mortality rates of bees on Neonics, which is quite peculiar in itself. I believe Australia may have followed suit to the EPA in the USA, although we didn't get any field tests at all. Australia depends upon bees as much as the rest of the world, we are a sizeable food bowl.
The beekeepers are mostly befuddled by what is happening to their bees, this scenario seemed to sneak in under the radar in Australia, there were no substantial consultations with beekeepers, very few people even know that the systemic pesticides they are using are even dangerous to bees. Bees dwindling off everywhere.
Jeffrey Gibbs, 6 October 2011