Scottish MEP calls for ban of neonicotinoids

[Stromnessbees]

Thank you for supporting us beekeepers and the bees, Alyn!


http://www.alynsmith.eu/_case_to_ans...noids_and_bees
"Case to answer" on neonicotinoids and bees

Posted by Laura Rayner 54.80pc on February 20, 2013 · Flag


Alyn Smith MEP, Scottish member of the European Parliament's Agriculture and Rural Development Committee, has today (Wednesday) called for greater research into the impact of neonicotinoid pesticides on bees and lambasted some colleagues for swallowing lobbying propaganda and using scientific doubt as an excuse for inaction.
The call came in a packed committee meeting in Brussels, attended by European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Safety, Tonio Borg.

The meeting heard a presentation from the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) on their study into the the risks to bees from neonicotinoids, acknowledging that there are threats to pollinators from these chemicals, though highlighting gaps in the evidence and that there remains some scientific dispute over the technical issues.

Alyn said:

"There are two bad lines of argument used on this issue. On the one hand, 'we need more data before we act' could keep us in stasis for a million years, but on the other, the 'precautionary principle' could be used as justification for not getting out of bed in the morning!
"It is up to us as legislators to make a call on the balance of the evidence available proportionate to the scale of the risks involved, and I've been concerned to see some MEPs parroting what is in effect lobbying propaganda as if it were gospel handed down on tablets of stone.

"I have been saying this for some time: the worrying decline in bee numbers is, at least in part, caused by toxic chemicals sprayed on our fields. I simply do not see how any other conclusion is possible based on the evidence available, not least after the EFSA study found clear links between the use of the chemicals and damage to bees.

"I back the European Commission's proposals for a partial ban on the most risky uses of these chemicals, but I also want to see a lot more research and if we're proven to be over-cautious then we can relax the ban.

"The potential consequences for agriculture, food and humankind of a continuing collapse in pollinators are stark. In any objective discussion there is always room for doubt but the more credible data is clear, there is a case to answer and there is a need to act."

[gavin]

There was an article in the Dundee Courier last week that discussed the disagreement between Alyn Smith and George Lyon, both MEPs whom I've met in recent months. Perhaps I should add that we didn't discuss bees or pesticides, just potatoes. They were presented in the article as taking opposite sides in this debate. I can't find the Courier article online, but George Lyon's position is described here:

http://www.farmersguardian.com/home/.../53540.article

Here is an excerpt. I perfectly agree. The available science does point to very low residues from winter OSR at a level that seems unlikely to cause harm.

At a meeting of the EU Agriculture Committee on Wednesday, Commissioner Tonio Borg said one option being considered was exempting winter sown crops from any ban.


George Lyon MEP said any flexibility on the proposed neonicotinoid ban was ‘a step in the right direction’.


Mr Lyon said: “Exempting winter sown crops would give Scottish farmers a real boost. A limited ban would reflect the science more accurately and ensure that farmers are not being penalised on a selective reading of the available evidence.

[Stromnessbees]

Well, not all MEPs and MPs have got the right attitude yet.

To help your MP to express his support for our bees and pollinators, get him to sign the Friends of the Earth Action Plan for Bees:

http://www.foe.co.uk/what_we_do/the_...se_35033.html#

Check if he is on this list first, he might have signed up already. If not, send him a quick note with the link!

http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefi...q_v=741236bc73


If he refuses then you know where not to put your cross on the next ballot paper.

[Stromnessbees]

.
Let's hope the right decision is taken in Brussels, as things are getting really bad closer to home now:


http://www.peeblesshirenews.com/news/roundup/articles/2013/03/09/449378-bee-scare-buzzes-into-tweeddale-/

Bee scare buzzes into Tweeddale

David Knox• Published 9 Mar 2013 07:00


A STUDY into the survival of struggling honey bees has found the Tweed Valley is amongst the worst for mortality rates. The research by the University of Dundee has prompted for greater action to tackle the decline of the species.
The science team, with help from members of the Scottish Beekeepers Association, studied more than 600 colonies across the country in 2011/12.

Of 274 colonies examined in the east of the country, 58, or 21 per cent, failed.
By contrast, just 14 of 286 colonies failed in the west, a smaller decline of about five per cent.

But more worrying, locally, is that the Tweed Valley population was decimated by just under 20 per cent - one of the worst hit areas in the country.
Scientists believe the presence of intensive agriculture and large areas of oilseed rape in the east could be linked to the poorer results for the area.

And they criticised the lack of data available regarding pesticides used by farmers.

Dr Christopher Connolly, who led the research, said he was stunned by the findings. He told the Peeblesshire News: "What we do have in the east and not the west is intensive agriculture.
...
Anecdotal evidence also suggests that similar devastating losses were experienced the previous year.
However, even within the east, there were marked differences in death rates. Colony losses in parts of Fife were recorded as high as 30 per cent and the Peeblesshire figure stood at 19 per cent.
...
A further study led by Dr Connolly analysed colony failure rates over winter across the country.
Of 89 colonies which had fed on oilseed rape, 27 failed, a death rate of 30 per cent.
...
Dr Connolly believes that nicotine-based pesticides, neonicotinoids, may be contributing to the deaths of bees feeding on the crop.
He added: "All oilseed rape is treated with neonicotinoids, you can't buy it without it being pre-treated with neonicotinoids."

Dr Connolly is now demanding the centralised recording of data so that the "multiple threats" to bees can be analysed properly.
And he wants the Scottish Government to take action to address the issue.
...


(my highlights, please follow the link to read the whole article)

[drumgerry]

Just out of interest and this is a serious question - how did Dr Connolly demarcate the division between east and west? It seems a terrible generalisation to equate east with intensive agriculture and west with the absence of that. For example where I live would generally be thought of as "east" and there's not an OSR field within 15 miles of me.

And of course it's been said a million times before. Were any of those dead outs tested for pesticide residues? If not you'd be as accurate in saying they died from excessive exposure to oxygen.

[Stromnessbees]

Were any of those dead outs tested for pesticide residues? If not you'd be as accurate in saying they died from excessive exposure to oxygen.

I wasn't aware that there's more oxygen in the east than in the west ...

[drumgerry]

It's as valid an assertion as they died from Neonic exposure in the absence of any evidence to support it

[Stromnessbees]

It's as valid an assertion as they died from Neonic exposure in the absence of any evidence to support it

There's a list of about 30 peer reviewed scientific studies that link neonics to problems with bees, do you have a similar list for oxygen?

[drumgerry]

And what do the 30 studies have to say about the specific colonies referred to by Dr Connolly? My point is - how can you say "it was Neonics" when those colonies haven't been tested for them? As well to say that the east of Scotland has a preponderance of beginning beekeepers who don't know how to get their colonies through a winter.

[Stromnessbees]

And what do the 30 studies have to say about the specific colonies referred to by Dr Connolly? My point is - how can you say "it was Neonics" when those colonies haven't been tested for them? As well to say that the east of Scotland has a preponderance of beginning beekeepers who don't know how to get their colonies through a winter.

That's an insult to all experienced beekeepers who lost colonies due to no fault of their own.
Clearly you are scraping the barrel with your arguments.