New Study Shows
Bee Research Tainted by Corporate Funding
August 12, 2014
Story
at-a-glance
Systemic neonicotinoid pesticides have been
increasingly blamed for bee deaths, prompting the
European Union (EU) to ban them for two years to
study their involvement with large bee kills
The concern now is that these studies will be
heavily biased with industry funding, as the UK’s
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
(DEFRA) has indicated corporate funding from
insecticide makers will be allowed
The UK’s Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has
reacted to the new government report, calling for
unbiased bee research to protect bees, the
environment and food supplies
An independent review by 29 scientists with the
International Union for the Conservation of Nature
(which looked at 800 studies) found neonicotinoids
are harming bees, butterflies, earthworms, snails,
birds, and more
Neonicotinoids were also detected at nine Midwestern
stream sites sampled during the 2013 growing season,
indicating their widespread environmental risks
By Dr. Mercola
Since 2006, US beekeepers have lost 10 million beehives,
worth an estimated $2 billion.1
The monetary loss is staggering, but the losses to the food
supply, which could soon be disastrous if bees keep
disappearing, is beyond words.
There is no price that can be put upon the work of bees,
which pollinate one-third of the food we eat. Just about every
fruit and vegetable you can imagine is dependent on the
pollinating services of bees. Apple orchards, for instance,
require one colony of bees per acre in order to be adequately
pollinated. Almond growers must have two hives per acre.
So far there have been enough bees to keep up with
production… but just barely. Those in the industry describe an
increasingly dire situation in which finding enough bees to
pollinate crops is "chaos."
Many growers are now booking contracts with beekeepers, which
migrate in from other parts of the country, far earlier than
ever before.2
Beekeeper Jeff Anderson told the Star Tribune, "We are
close to the tipping point, where the bee industry cannot
respond to the needs."3
The Battle Over Insecticide Use Grows
While no one is debating the fact that bees are in trouble,
intense controversy has risen over why. There are
basically two primary sides to this debate: those who believe
insecticides are to blame and those who do not. As you might
suspect, championing the pro-insecticides camp are their makers,
including Monsanto and Bayer.
Monsanto, which is the world leader in genetically modified
(GM) crops (and the pesticides and herbicides that go along with
them), bought Beeologics in 2013, a company whose primary goal
is finding a solution to the colony collapse disorder (CCD, the
widely used term to describe bee die-offs).
Bayer is a leading manufacturer of the neonicotinoid
pesticides at the heart of the debate. They opened the North
American Bee Care Center in 2013, where they are conducting "bee
health research" and promoting "bee-responsible use of Bayer
products."
Clearly, the research coming out of Beeologics and the North
American Bee Care Center are likely to be tainted with regard to
these companies' products and their impact on bee populations.
Monsanto and Bayer are going to stop at nothing to make sure
their insecticides and GM crops are completely cleared of any
wrongdoing.
Already, in 2010 a study by Montana bee researcher Dr. Jerry
Bromenshenk found that CCD was not caused by pesticides but
rather a
combination of fungus and virus, found in all collapsed
colonies, may be the culprit…
What was not widely reported in the media, however, was that
Dr. Bromenshenk received a significant research grant from Bayer
to study bee pollination – a massive conflict of interest that
is likely to be carried over into any upcoming research from
Bayer and Monsanto.
Recognizing this obvious conflict of interest, the UK's
Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has reacted to a new
government report, calling for unbiased bee research.
Bee Research Must Be Transparent and Stave Off Corporate
Influence
Systemic neonicotinoid pesticides have been increasingly
blamed for bee deaths (and were implicated in last year's mass
bee die-off of 25,000 bumblebees along with
millions of bee deaths in Canada), prompting the European
Union (EU) to ban them for two years, beginning December 1,
2013, to study their involvement with large bee kills. At the
end of two years, the restriction will be reviewed.
In July 2014, the UK's Department for Environment Food and
Rural Affairs (DEFRA) conducted a consultation on a draft of the
National Pollinator Strategy,4
with the final version to be published this fall.
The draft lists plans to produce a "better understanding of
the role and value of pollinators, as well as the effects of
neonicotinoid pesticides on pollinators and the impact of the EU
ban on three neonicotinoid pesticides on farmers' crop growing
practices."
The EAC has taken issue with DEFRA's strategy, however,
stating that it relies too heavily on corporate funding from
pesticide manufacturers, which threatens the integrity of the
research. Chair of the Committee, Joan Walley MP, said:5
"When it comes to research on pesticides, the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
is content to let the manufacturers fund the work… This
testifies to a loss of environmental protection capacity in
the Department responsible for it.
If the research is to command public confidence,
independent controls need to be maintained at every step.
Unlike other research funded by pesticide companies, these
studies also need to be peer-reviewed and published in
full."
The concern now is that these studies will be heavily biased
with industry funding, or that DEFRA may try to overturn the ban
ahead of schedule next year.
Pesticide maker Syngenta has already tried to seek an
"emergency" exemption to the ban, but the EAC is calling on
DEFRA to take a clear stance against such loopholes. The EAC
report further added, "New studies have added weight to those
that indicated a harmful link between pesticide use and
pollinator populations."6
More Research Implicates Neonicotinoids in Bee Deaths
Neonicotinoids are now used on most American crops,
especially corn. This newer class of chemicals is applied to
seeds before planting, allowing the pesticide to be taken up
through the plant's vascular system as it grows. As a result,
the chemical is expressed in the pollen and nectar of the plant.
These insecticides are highly toxic to bees because they are
systemic, water-soluble, and pervasive. They get into the soil
and groundwater where they can accumulate and remain for many
years and present long-term toxicity to the hive. Neonicotinoids
affect insects' central nervous systems in ways that are
cumulative and irreversible. Even minute amounts can have
profound effects over time. One of the observed effects of these
insecticides is weakening of the bee's immune system.
Forager bees bring pesticide-laden pollen back to the hive,
where it's consumed by all of the bees. Six months later, their
immune systems fail, and they fall prey to secondary, seemingly
"natural" bee infections, such as parasites, mites, viruses,
fungi, and bacteria.
In 2013, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) released a
report that ruled neonicotinoid insecticides are essentially
"unacceptable" for many crops,7
and in the US, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA)
announced that they were restricting the use of 18 pesticide
products containing dinotefuran, a type of neonicotinoid. To
date, however, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has
failed to take action and has already been sued once by
beekeepers and environmental groups for
failing to protect bees from neonicotinoid pesticides.
They have also green-lighted another pesticide that is a
close cousin to these toxic chemicals (sulfoxaflor) and, as a
result, several beekeeping organizations and beekeepers have
filed a legal action against the EPA for approving sulfoxaflor,
which is considered by many to be a "fourth-generation
neonicotinoid. At least, in June 2014, an Executive Order was
issued by the US government to investigate pollinator health
(including the use of neonicotinoids), although no federal bans
have been put in place.
Meanwhile, an independent review by 29 scientists with the
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (which looked
at 800 studies) put another nail in the coffin for
neonicotinoids. The study found that neonicotinoids are indeed
gravely harming bees and other pollinators (like butterflies).
And that's not all. The research also showed serious harm to
birds, earthworms, snails, and other invertebrates.8
One of the researchers, Jean-Marc Bonmatin with the National
Center for Scientific Research, said:9
"The evidence is very clear. We are witnessing a
threat to the productivity of our natural and farmed
environment equivalent to that posed by organophosphates or
DDT… Far from protecting food production, the use of
neonicotinoid insecticides is threatening the very
infrastructure which enables it."
US Fish and Wildlife Service Bans Neonicotinoids from Wildlife
Refuges
There has been one noteworthy victory in the US surrounding
neonicotinoids. Last month, the US Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS) announced they would be banning all neonicotinoid
insecticides from wildlife refuges across the US by January
2016.10
The move follows a previous announcement that their use would be
banned from refuges in the Pacific Northwest. This makes FWS the
first federal agency to restrict the use of neonicotinoids based
on the precautionary principle. As an aside, the agency also
announced it would phase out the use of genetically engineered
(GE) crops to feed wildlife in refuges – another environmental
victory. National Wildlife Refuge System Chief James Kurth
noted:11
“We have determined that prophylactic use, such as a
seed treatment, of the neonicotinoid pesticides that can
distribute systemically in a plant and can potentially
affect a broad spectrum of non-target species is not
consistent with Service policy. We make this decision based
on a precautionary approach to our wildlife management
practices and not on agricultural practices.”
Neonicotinoids Are Contaminating Water, Too
The environmental concerns of neonicotinoids have focused on
their role in pollinator health, although new research in
Environmental Pollution identified another route of harm:
waterways.12
After sampling nine Midwestern stream sites during the 2013
growing season, neonicotinoids were detected at all sites
sampled. At different times of the growing season, levels of the
insecticides peaked. For instance, after spring planting, levels
spiked well above what would be considered toxic for aquatic
organisms.13
Furthermore, reduced levels were detected in the waterways even
before planting, which indicates that they can "persist from
applications in prior years."14
As reported by Mother Jones:15
"These findings directly contradict industry talking
points. Older insecticides were typically sprayed onto crops
in the field, while neonics are applied directly to seeds,
and then taken up by the stalks, leaves, pollen, and nectar
of the resulting plants. 'Due to its precise application
directly to the seed, which is then planted below the soil
surface, seed treatment reduces potential off-target
exposure to plants and animals,' Croplife America, the
pesticide industry's main lobbying outfit, declared in a
2014 report.
Yet the USGS researchers report that older pesticides
that once rained down on the corn/soy belt, like
chlorpyrifos and carbofuran, turned up at 'substantially'
lower rates in water—typically, in less than 20 percent of
samples, compared to the 100 percent of samples found in the
current neonic study. Apparently, pesticides that are taken
up by plants through seed treatments don't stay in the
plants; and neonics, the USGS authors say, are highly water
soluble and break down in water more slowly than the
pesticides they've replaced."
Other Leading Theories for Bee Die-Offs
Environmental chemicals are a forerunner for what's causing
so many bees to die, but it's likely that there are multiple
factors at play here. Among the top proposed culprits include:
Pesticides, insecticides, and fungicides
– Neonicotinoids, such as Imidacloprid and Clothianidin,
kills insects by attacking their nervous systems. These are
known to get into pollen and nectar, and can damage
beneficial insects such as bees.
Malnutrition/nutritional deficiencies –
Many beekeepers place the hives near fields of identical
crops, which may result in malnutrition as the bees are only
getting one type of nectar. Essentially, this theory is
identical to that of human nutrition; we need a wide variety
of nutrients from different foods. If you keep eating the
same limited range of foods, you can easily end up suffering
from nutritional deficiencies. Poor nutrition suppresses
immune function, making the bees far more susceptible to
toxins from pesticides, viruses, fungi, or a combination of
factors that ultimately kill them.
Viruses and fungi – There's even the
possibility that some new form of "AIDS-like" viral
infection is affecting the bees.
Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) –
Researchers have discovered that when a cellular phone is
placed near a hive, the radiation generated by it (900-1,800
MHz) is enough to prevent bees from returning to them,
according to a study conducted at Landau University several
years ago.16
More recently, a study published in 2011 found that the
presence of microwaves from cell phones have a dramatic
effect on bees, causing them to become quite disturbed.17
Lack of natural foraging areas – Mass
conversions of grasslands to corn and soy in the Midwest
(monoculture) has dramatically reduced bees' natural
flowering foraging areas.
Genetically modified (GM) crops – In
2007, a German study demonstrated that
horizontal gene transfer appears to take place between
the GM crop and the bees that feed on it. When bees were
released in a field of genetically modified rapeseed, and
then fed the pollen to younger bees, the scientists
discovered the bacteria in the guts of the young ones
mirrored the same genetic traits as ones found in the GM
crop.
You Can Help: How to Protect the Bees
The Pollinator Partnership has revealed many ways you can
help the urgent issue of declining pollinator populations.18
Clearly, major steps need to be taken on a national level to
protect pollinators from toxic chemicals and other threats, and
you can help in this regard by supporting the Save America's
Pollinators Act. Friends of the Earth has also launched the
Bee-Action Campaign to tell stores to take bee-killing
pesticides like neonicotinoids off of their shelves, and you can
help by
signing their petition now. That said, you can even make a
difference right in your own backyard:
Reduce or eliminate your use of pesticides
Plant a pollinator-friendly garden by choosing a variety
of plants that will continue flowering from spring through
fall; check out the
Bee Smart
Pollinator App for a database of nearly 1,000
pollinator-friendly plants
Choose plants native to your region and stick with
old-fashioned varieties, which have the best blooms,
fragrance and nectar/pollen for attracting and feeding
pollinators
Finally, if you would like to learn even more about the
economic, political, and ecological implications of the
worldwide disappearance of the honeybee, check out the extremely
informative documentary film
Vanishing of the Bees.
Copyright 1997- 2014 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.