More good news for bees, at last

Last week saw the banning in France of the insecticide thiamethoxam, which is a neonicotinoid or "nerve-agent" pesticide. I have written about these previously as research has been showing that this type of highly effective pesticide is linked to a decline in bee populations, with serious consequences not just for honey lovers, but for our food security.

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Unfortunately, the UK government has yet to take any action in response the these latest, or for that matter any of the earlier findings, although the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is looking into the evidence and assure us that the UK has a "robust" pesticide safety policy.

One thing that really interested me in all of this was how in carefully assessing the risk that this and similar products present, the relevant scientific panels which advise governments produce comprehensive, well informed and complex risk assessments which failed to notice the rather obvious risk that a pesticide that is highly effective against insects generally is likely to be highly effective on other types of non-pest insects too - like bees.

This type of thinking is, sadly, not new. Incidentally it is the 50th anniversary since the publication of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, which also pointed out the devastation that the blanket application of poisonous pesticides were causing to ecosystems. They were eliminating populations of some pests, but also of song birds and many other animals who were either harmless, or actually necessary for the continued sustainability of the ecosystem. She imagined a world which was silent, where song birds would no longer be heard.

We think we are further along, but it would seem that we might be hurdling towards a world where the buzz of bees is no longer heard, and where we will have to wander around, hand-pollinating plants to keep our food supplies going.

You might think I am exaggerating, but if Defra tells us that it has a "robust" pesticide safety policy, which approved this pesticide in the first place, and then reviews this research, which is merely pointing out what has been suspected for many years, and acts upon it, then how valid is this "robust" safety policy? Considering how important bees are to our food security (crops which rely on bees include tomatoes, cucumbers, cranberries, blueberries, melons, soybeans and avocados to name but a very few) I find this level of oversight just a tad alarming. What other interesting chemicals are being put through this "robust policy"? I guess we'll have to wait for the French to ban them to find out if they might have actually been dangerous.

If you are interested in keeping up the pressure, here are links to a couple of campaigns which might be of interest:

Neals Yard Bee Lovely Campaign Petition

Buglife Ban Neonicotinoids Campaign