Insecticiden

All of humanity currently risks exposure to toxic chemicals all over creation in a similar vein to the Mad Hatter of Alice in Wonderland fame. And, maybe, as a result, goin’ kinda looney and getting horribly, dreadfully sick! As soon as the Spring of 2018, the EPA will decide whether to risk the slaughter of birds and bees and pollinators that serve critical functions in crop production, as well as goosing-up the likelihood of chronic illnesses of citizens. The issue behind this flirtation with disease, sickness, pain, and death is regulation, or lack thereof, of chemical pesticides.

One in eight bird species is threatened with global extinction, and once widespread creatures such as the puffin, snowy owl and turtle dove are plummeting towards oblivion, according to the definitive study of global bird populations. The State of the World’s Birds, a five-year compendium of population data from the best-studied group of animals on the planet, reveals a biodiversity crisis driven by the expansion and intensification of agriculture. In all, 74% of 1,469 globally threatened birds are affected primarily by farming.

Two popular types of the pesticide neonicotinoid used widely on America’s foods may cause brain impairment and should be restricted, according to a recent study by a team of European scientists. Researchers from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommended further restrictions on the use of neonicotinoids in the wake of new data which indicate that the class of pesticides "may affect the developing human nervous system" of children.

According to Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 on maximum residue levels of pesticides in or on food and feed, European Union Member States, Iceland and Norway monitor pesticide residue levels in food samples and submit the monitoring results to EFSA. This report provides the results of an ad-hoc data extraction and comparison of the monitoring results on organic and conventionally produced food samples.

Pesticides can act as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in animals providing characteristic multiphasic dose-response curves and non-lethal endpoints in toxicity studies. However, it is not known if neonicotinoids act as EDCs in bees. To address this issue, we performed oral acute and chronic toxicity studies including concentrations recorded in nectar and pollen, applying acetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam to bumble bees, honey bees and leafcutter bees, the three most common bee species managed for pollination.