A Real Buzzkill Nov. 13, 2015 U.S. News and World Report Corporate pesticides are killing honeybees, and consumers could soon feel the sting. Imagine entering your local grocery store only to learn that everyday items like coffee, apples, milk and butter are out of stock – permanently. This might seem absurd. But it could soon happen. All of these foods have one thing in common: They depend on pollination from honeybees. But thanks in part to the rampant use of powerful pesticides, known as neonicotinoids, these busy bees are quickly vanishing. Despite calls from food experts everywhere, U.S. regulators are letting Big Agriculture continue its chemical attack on America's food supply. It's high time regulators ban neonicotinoids. Neonicotinoids are used by farmers on about 140 different crops, including corn, canola and soy. But despite truth-twisting marketing from producers, there is little evidence that neonicotinoids actually improve yields. They do, however, kill bees by damaging their nervous systems, weakening their memories and impeding their ability to forage and fly. A study conducted by Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that 70 percent of pollen and honey collected from local bee populations contained traces of neonicotinoids at levels high enough to have "detrimental health effects." Another study found that over half of plants purchased at major garden stores contain neonicotinoids. The levels present in many were high enough to kill bees instantly. Not surprisingly, the widespread use of these pesticides has taken an enormous toll on the nation's pollinator population. Last year, American beekeepers lost 42 percent of their honeybee colonies. That's up almost 8 percentage points from 2014's bee loss tally. This isn't just a problem for beekeepers. Pollination plays an essential role in the entire agricultural ecosystem. Seventy of the world's top 100 crop species are pollinated by bees – and those foods feed 90 percent of mankind. Without a large, healthy bee population, most foods we rely on would disappear. The U.S. Department of Agriculture considers annual colony losses above 19 percent to be economically unsustainable. Yet, a full two-thirds of American beekeepers are suffering loses at more than double that threshold. If this loss rate continues to rise, beekeepers will be forced out of business – and supermarkets could soon follow. Indeed, to illustrate the crucial bee-to-table connection, one Whole Foods store recently emptied its shelves of all the products that depend on bee pollination. The produce section was barren. Apples, onions, lemons, watermelons and carrots were absent. The dairy aisle was missing milk, butter, yogurt and cheese. The store lost half of all its products. Fortunately, some regulators have taken steps to beat back neonicotinoids. In 2013, the European Union banned the dangerous chemical across the continent. Last year, the Canadian province of Ontario began phasing out the use of neonicotinoids. Here in the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency is failing. Attempts to limit the use of neonicotinoids have been derailed by the well-financed lobbying efforts of colossal pesticide manufacturers who prioritize short-term profits over the long-term health of America's food supply. Switzerland-based agrochemical giant Syngenta, for instance, spent more than $1.3 million on lobbying in 2014 alone. That same year, Monsanto spent over $4 million on lobbying. These investments are paying off. American regulators have essentially refused to push back against corporate bee killers. In the spring, for instance, the EPA simply announced plans to "review" neonicotinoids over the next four years. The stakes are too high for such inaction. In 2013, there weren't enough honeybees to meet almond growers' demands. The honeybee loss rate simply can't continue. Without honeybees, we won't have food. That's a sting that everyone will feel. http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2015/11/13/...
I'm honestly not too worried.. cause if the bees do disappear, it won't take too long for another pollinator to take their place. Pollen is a niche.. and there are numerous other pollinators that will fill in that niche. I'm not a fan of extinctions caused by man, but we only really need bees if we want honey.. and even then, there are ants that produce a honey. Unlike the quote that people claim Einstein said (he didn't) humanity won't die off without bees.. just our honey supply. That said though, the pesticides need to be cut back. Not just for the health of bees' nervous systems, but our nervous systems as well. Too many neurological disorders are cropping up.. and anything we can do to cut back on harmful chemicals that attack the nervous system the better.
they are dying because they are ingesting GMO proteins. just like people that eat GMO develop diseases. https://www.organicconsumers.org/essays/gmos-are-k...
Behind my neighborhood there's a back trail and during the spring/summer it rained a good amount and a ton of flowers showed up. I probably saw the most honey bees out there then I have anywhere else. The buzz was a roar. They ended up chopping the flower forest down, but I think they're going to ignore human-sourced plants as much as possible. Animals have shown forever that if something is poisonous they'll eventually learn to look elsewhere.
http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/04/08/10-... http://responsibletechnology.org/10-reasons-to-avo... and you have that big post by garrison68 about the honeybees
Only looked at the 2nd link, 1st one keeps crashing on my phone. If you look at an anti-GMO site and they link GMOs and autism, they are full of shit. They are simply a group of people who fear what they don't know and use fear mongering to make other sheeple fearful too. That is the easiest way to tell if a group or organization is full of shit, if they link autism to what they fear. Kind of like when vaccines were the culprit for autism.. just a bunch of sensationalist bullshit. We don't know what is causing the rise in autism.. as there isn't really just one cause, more like a convergence of factors.. and therefore autism can be linked to just about anything and everything. It's an easy target for people wanting to gather sheeple to promote their personal ignorance.
You could atleast post some links that prove GMO and autism have no link, instead of saying "sheeple" over and over. I only promote facts and do not participate in "fear-mongering", only education. Cheers
Burden of proof son, it is on those who believe that idiocy to prove it. Kind of like God.. can't prove God doesn't exist, no point in trying to prove a negative. For anyone who pays attention, it really should be common sense. Autism gets passed around like a slut.. back when those big ass powerlines started going up, they were said to cause a bunch of problems.. including autism. Then vaccines were the cause, now it is GMOs. Pretty sure there were studies that linked table salt to autism too. Now if you're the type of person who doesn't pay attention to things in general, I can see why you don't see it and just blindly follow the fear of others. And I've seen enough of your posts to know that you don't deal with facts..
I've noticed the people on here similar to yourself get upset when somebody posts proof of something that exists and you fear it. You don't know what to do when you realize what you've been taught all your life is twisted lies, from the people you look up to, so you argue against it with emotion not facts to try to prove an idea that was created out of thin air. If it was a possible explanation that you could actually stand up for, you would be educating about things you have researched; yet that is not the case, instead you only insult the opposing side in a reaction to the fear of the unknown. I don't even know why you brought up something about "god", which we know is false because religion is used as another form of control and keeps people in a spiritual rut and they do not become enlightened (which is what religion is supposed to do).
Typical sheep, just tries to take what someone says about them and flip it around. Here is a chart that correlates GMOs and autism.. Pretty scary.. huh. Now check this out.. here is a chart that correlates organic food and autism. Oh shit! Now what do we eat? See what I mean.. autism can and is linked to anything and everything. So when you see an anti-GMO website that links autism with GMOs, it is sensational bullshit mean to fear monger rather than provide facts. I am sure if you plotted cell phone sales/usage.. you'd see the same thing. If you plotted average number of internet users and autism, you'd see a link. Autism is the party slut getting passed around.. and all you're doing is dipping into sloppy seconds, well.. more like sloppy fifty fifths with GMOs/autism.
You still will not leave the autism topic. I was not even speaking of it in the first place. http://drhyman.com/blog/2010/05/19/why-current-thi... Theres some food for thought
I think I accidently found the same article. Part of the basis seems to be a larger awareness and an expanded definition. Genetics also plays a large role. http://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2015/10/13/autism-increase-mystery-solved-no-its-not-vaccines-gmos-glyphosate-or-organic-foods/ We are drifting off-topic though. Honey Bees in AZ seem to be increasing again.
The only reason I brought it up is because you linked sites that linked GMOs and autism.. and when a site links the 2, you can pretty much guarantee that the rest of what it has to say is bullshit as well. Meaning that when someone asks you for proof about something else related to GMOs, don't link bullshit sites that spread misinformation and fear.
His influence is ongoing. There was a guy, some years ago, on another net forum similar to this one, which I used to post on, named Great Spirit, who was like Divine X. He was also banned.
I live in AZ, no wonder I saw so many bees. Is it a coincidence that we've been getting dumped with rain all year, thus increasing the chance for plant production, correlating to more bees? We don't have many farms that grow plants out here as far as I know, mostly just grass for Cows.
The top agricultural crop exports are vegetables,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>hay,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>cotton, and cottonseed. Arizona ranks 2nd nationally in it's production of cantaloupe & honeydew melons, head &<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>leaf lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and lemons. There are a few Middle Eastern companies growing alfalfa for export to their lands, which ironically don't have enough water to grow there.
One of my tinfoil theories with bees is that they would benefit if we brought hemp back in large scale. Granted it is wind pollinated, bees still visit it.. and they used to think THC and other components were insecticides, but they know they are too weak to be that.. more like antibacterial. When bees have a weakened nervous system, it makes them more prone to infection by bacteria that are also known to cause colony collapse. My theory is that they would visit hemp fields much like how sharks visit cleaning stations in the ocean. Clean themselves of bacteria festering on them to prevent its spread.