Beleid en debat

Deutschland unterstützt das Vorhaben der Europäischen Kommission, den Schutz der Bienen im Zusammenhang mit der Anwendung von Pflanzenschutzmitteln zu verstärken

Deutschland unterstützt das Vorhaben der Europäischen Kommission, den Schutz der Bienen im Zusammenhang mit der Anwendung von Pflanzenschutzmitteln zu verstärken. "Bienenvölker sind unersetzlich, sie leisten einen wichtigen Beitrag für den Erhalt unserer Ökosysteme. Deutschland hat bereits 2009 sowohl das Beizen von Saatgut mit Neonikotinoiden bei Mais und Getreide als auch die Einfuhr, das Inverkehrbringen und die Aussaat von entsprechendem Saatgut verboten. Um den Schutz der Bienen zu stärken, ist ein europaweit einheitliches Vorgehen auf wissenschaftlicher Basis entscheidend", sagte Bundeslandwirtschaftsministerin Ilse Aigner am Freitag in Berlin. Für die Anwendung von Pflanzenschutzmitteln gelten heute schon EU-weit strenge Zulassungskriterien. Deutschland hatte bereits frühzeitig Maßnahmen ergriffen, um Bienenvölker zu schützen, auch durch Einschränkung der Anwendung von Pflanzenschutzmitteln. In Deutschland werden die Auswirkungen von Pflanzenschutzmitteln auf Bienen zudem bereits bei der Risikobewertung im Rahmen des Zulassungsverfahrens nach EU-einheitlichen Kriterien umfassend geprüft. Im Fokus der aktuellen Debatte stehen sogenannte Neonikotinoide Pflanzenschutzmittel, die auch zur Beizung von Saatgut verwendet werden, um den Befall mit Schädlingen zu bekämpfen und die Anwendung von Spritzmitteln zu reduzieren. Die EU-Kommission müsse jetzt nach den Beratungen in Brüssel einen konkreten Vorschlag vorlegen mit Einzelheiten zum Umgang mit den entsprechenden Neonikotinoiden, der das Gutachten der Europäischen Lebensmittelbehörde (EFSA) und die aktuellen Erkenntnisse in den einzelnen Mitgliedstaaten berücksichtigt, fordert das Bundeslandwirtschaftsministerium.

Coalition against BAYER Dangers: "It is unacceptable that the corporations are now pocketing the profits while the general public has to pay for the damages caused!”

On 31 January the EU Commission recommended that three neonicotinoid pesticides be withdrawn on 1 July. The ban is to be valid for two years initially. The affected insecticides are Clothianidin and Imidacloprid produced by BAYER as well as Thiamethoxam made by SYNGENTA. The member states are to vote on this proposal at the end of February. While the Coalition against BAYER Dangers (CBG) has welcomed this announcement as a “step in the right direction”, it demands a permanent ban. Moreover, the manufacturers would have to be liable for any damages caused. Philipp Mimkes, board member of the Coalition against BAYER Dangers (CBG), said: “Since 1998 we have been demanding a ban on neonicotinoids because of their dangers for bees. BAYER and SYNGENTA have made billions with these substances. It is unacceptable that the corporations are now pocketing the profits while the general public has to pay for the damages caused!”.

'Mensen herkennen zich niet meer in de Wageningse geluiden en denken dat Wageningen een bio-industrie-club geworden is'

De aanhoudende discussie over intensieve veehouderij heeft een grote biologische pluimveehouder ertoe gebracht de samenwerking met Wageningen UR op te zeggen. ‘Mensen waarmee we al jaren samenwerken op het gebied van duurzaamheid, herkennen zich nu niet meer in de geluiden uit het Wageningse. Mensen denken dat Wageningen een bio-industrie-club geworden is.’ Dat meldt entomologie-hoogleraar Marcel Dicke tijdens een interview met Resource. ‘Vorige week zegde onze partner de samenwerking op vanwege de uitspraken van Aalt Dijkhuizen. Directe aanleiding was het artikel ‘Bio schaadt milieu’ in de Telegraaf van 12 januari, waarin Dijkhuizen reageerde op de campagne van Wakker Dier tegen de plofkip. Volgens Dicke bestond er een goede relatie met het bedrijf. De entomologen haalden er kippenbloed, om muggen op te kweken die het Westnijlvirus kunnen verspreiden. Dicke wil in een gesprek proberen de relatie te herstellen. ‘We gaan natuurlijk proberen uit te leggen dat er meer in Wageningen is dan alleen deze visie.’

De koninginnenpage had in 2012 in Nederland het slechtste jaar sinds 1999

De koninginnepage (Papilio machaon) is de grootste onder onze inheemse dagvlinders en voor velen ook de mooiste. De soort wordt gevonden op zowel droge als vochtige graslanden waar een hele reeks planten voorkomen van de familie van de schermbloemigen Umbelliferae, maar komt niet voor op plaatsen met intensieve landbouw. De koninginnepage kan verspreid over heel Vlaanderen waargenomen worden, voornamelijk in heuvelachtige streken. Hij is zeldzamer in Nederland, waar hij alleen te vinden is in het zuiden. Hij werd in Nederland ook in 2012 nog wel op veel plekken gevonden, maar de aantallen waren dramatisch laag. Sinds 1999 had de koninginnenpage niet meer zo'n slecht jaar.

Bayer CropScience is ernstig teleurgesteld met het draconische voorstel van de Europese Commissie om al het gebruik met neonicotinoïden in bijenaantrekkelijke gewassen voor twee jaar op te schorten

Het bedrijf gelooft dat de commissie met deze overmatig conservatieve interpretatie van het voorzorgsprincipe een kans mist om tot een faire en proportionele oplossing te komen. Bayer CropScience deelt de zorg betreffende de gezondheid van de bijen en heeft fors geïnvesteerd in onderzoek om de impact van gewasbeschermingsmiddelen op bijen te minimaliseren. Dit is in de praktijk begeleid met uitgebreide Stewardship maatregelen die verantwoord en juist gebruik van de middelen ondersteunt. Het bedrijf blijft geloven in een verantwoord gebruik van neonicotinoïde-bevattende producten die al vele jaren worden gebruikt en essentieel zijn voor telers in heel Europa. Bayer CropScience vraagt de lidstaten om het proportionaliteitsbeginsel te blijven aanhangen op het moment dat het voorstel van de commissie wordt besproken. Maatregelen die worden genomen dienen gebaseerd te zijn op gedegen wetenschappelijke conclusies. Elke disproportionele maatregel kan het concurrentievermogen van de Europese landbouw in gevaar brengen en uiteindelijk leiden tot hogere kosten voor voedsel en andere agrarische grondstoffen. Dit kan enorme economische gevolgen voor de gehele voedselketen hebben en het belang van de bijen wordt er niet méér mee gediend. In een reactie nodigt de toxicoloog Henk Tennekes de firma Bayer CropScience uit te reageren op zijn voordracht van 28 november 2012, tijdens de 12e Fresenius Ecotoxicology conferentie in Mainz (bijlage), over de risico's van neonicotinoide insecticiden. Deze voordracht, die werd bijgewoond door medewerkers van Bayer CropScience, levert overtuigende bewijslast dat het gebruik van imidacloprid een onaanvaardbaar risico voor bijen vormt. Tot nu toe heeft Bayer CropScience deze bewijslast genegeerd, aldus Tennekes.

Bayer CropScience is disappointed with the European Commission's draconian proposal to suspend all uses of neonicotinoids products in crops attractive to bees for two years

The company believes that the Commission's overly conservative interpretation of the precautionary principle is a missed opportunity to achieve a fair and proportional solution. Bayer CropScience shares the concerns surrounding bee health and has been investing heavily in research to minimize the impact of crop protection products on bees and in extensive stewardship measures supporting the responsible and proper use of its products. The company continues to believe in the responsible use of neonicotinoid-containing products which have been used for many years and are vital to European farmers. Bayer CropScience asks the Member States to adhere to the principles of proportionality when addressing the Commission's proposal and refer back to solid science before taking any measures. Any disproportionate action would jeopardize the competitiveness of European agriculture and finally lead to higher costs for food, feed, fiber and renewable raw materials and have an enormous economic impact throughout the whole food chain.

Roundup ad misleading: Monsanto forced to accept verdict

Monsanto has been forced to accept the opinion of the Advertising Code Committee in the Netherlands over a misleading advertisement on their agrochemical Roundup. The company did not appeal against the decision of the committee of 11 December 2012. The ad titled "Roundup, the facts" appeared in June 2012 in the Telegraph and The Volkskrant. This advertising is misleading in the propositions that the herbicide "would have no effect on the soil", "would not remain in the soil" and "would not penetrate the soil," the Advertising Code Committee said. The complaint was filed against by campaign website toxicsoy.org together with Corporate Europe Observatory and Pesticide Action Network. The complaint was substantiated with references to scientific studies from different countries. Tjerk Dalhuisen, one of the authors, says, "The ad was trying to give the impression that Roundup is harmless. It contained gross factual inaccuracies. Roundup is harmful to the soil and is a major problem for the drinking water supply. Roundup causes considerable damage to humans, animals and nature."

Earth Open Source: The pesticide industry and Europe’s regulators have jointly misled the public with claims that glyphosate is safe

The pesticide industry and EU regulators knew as long ago as the 1980s-1990s that Roundup, the world's best selling herbicide, causes birth defects – but they failed to inform the public.
This report, co-authored by international scientists and researchers, reveals that industry’s own studies (including one commissioned by Monsanto) showed as long ago as the 1980s that Roundup’s active ingredient glyphosate causes birth defects in laboratory animals.
The facts are these:
• Industry has known from its own studies since the 1980s that glyphosate causes malformations in experimental animals at high doses
• Industry has known since 1993 that these effects also occur at lower and mid doses
• The German government has known since at least 1998 that glyphosate causes malformations
• The EU Commission’s expert scientific review panel knew in 1999 that glyphosate causes malformations
• The EU Commission has known since 2002 that glyphosate causes malformations. This was the year it signed off on the current approval of glyphosate.

But this information was not made public. On the contrary, the pesticide industry and Europe’s regulators have jointly misled the public with claims that glyphosate is safe. As a result, Roundup is used by home gardeners and local authorities on roadsides, in school grounds, and in other public areas, as well as in farmers’ fields.

Dutch Parliament moves against glyphosate

In September 2011 a Green Member of the Dutch Parliament, Rik Grashoff, put forward a Parliamentary motion proposing a ban on the "commercial use" of Roundup outside agriculture. In the motion, Grashoff cited evidence presented in Earth Open Source's report, "Roundup and birth defects: Is the public being kept in the dark?". This report revealed that industry's own studies carried out as long ago as the 1980s showed that glyphosate, Roundup's active ingredient, causes birth defects in laboratory animals. These findings, and evidence of other types of harm, have been confirmed in independent peer-reviewed studies, also mentioned by Grashoff in the motion. Grashoff added that Roundup is a threat to drinking water supplies and that alternative methods of weed control are available. Grashoff's motion gained majority support in the Parliament, so now the relevant minister has to work out a proposal. There has been talk of stopping the use of the herbicide on streets, in parks, and other public places. Our sources in The Netherlands tell us that Monsanto asked for a meeting with the minister. In due course, a "Sustainable Weed Control Support Group" was founded by "users and producers of herbicides", including a website, facebook and twitter sites. These sites promote the notion of the "sustainable use" of Roundup and claim declining levels of pollution in surface water in recent years. On 25 June 2012 Monsanto placed a large advertisement in De Telegraaf, the biggest newspaper in The Netherlands, claiming that EOS's report was wrong. Monsanto's counter-argument was that the studies highlighted in EOS's report – all of them, presumably! – had been evaluated by CTGB (the Dutch regulatory authority) and other EU authorities and were deemed not "relevant".

Environmental and food safety groups in the US are now urging the EPA to follow the European example

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?"