The Italian government banned the use of several neonicotinoid pesticides that are blamed for the deaths of millions of honeybees. The Ministero del Lavoro della Salute e delle Politiche Sociali issued an immediate suspension of the seed treatment products clothianidin, imidacloprid, fipronil and thiamethoxam used in rapeseed oil, sunflowers and sweetcorn. The Italian government will start a monitoring program to further investigate the reasons of recent bee deaths.
Italy followed Germany and Slovenia which banned sales of clothianidin and imidacloprid in May. In France imidacloprid has been banned on sunflowers already since 1999. In 2003 the substance was also banned as a sweetcorn treatment. Bayer´s application for clothianidin was rejected by French authorities.
The two substances are produced by the German company Bayer CropScience and generated *800 million in 2007. Imidacloprid is Bayer´s best-selling pesticide.
In August the German Coalition against Bayer Dangers brought a charge against Werner Wenning, chairman of the Bayer Board of Management, for marketing dangerous pesticides and thereby accepting the mass death of bees all over the world. The charge was introduced in cooperation with German beekeepers who lost thousands of hives after poisoning by the pesticide clothianidin in May this year.
Harro Schultze, attorney of the Coalition against Bayer Dangers said: "The Public Prosecutor needs to clarify which efforts Bayer undertook to prevent a ban of imidacloprid and clothianidin in Germany after sales of both substances were stopped in France. We´re suspecting that Bayer submitted flawed studies to play down the risks of pesticide residues in treated plants".
Neonicotinoid pesticides are systemic chemicals that work their way through the plant and attack the nervous system of any insect it comes into contact with. The substances also get into the pollen and the nectar and can damage beneficial insects such as bees.
The Press Release of the Italian Government: www.ministerosalute.it (top right: "Tutela patrimonio apistico: sospensione cautelativa dei prodotti fitosanitari utilizzati nel trattamento di concia delle sementi")
Comment by: PT (David Alexander) (Jan-16-2009) Web site
Thank you for the information, GreenFootsteps. I have edited so your links are live.
I wonder when one of these crises (bee disappearances, bat deaths, fish shortages, natural gas embargoes...) will get so severe that everyone will pay attention to the delicate balance we are trying to maintain while keeping our way of life going.
Comment by: Greengecko (Rona) (Jan-16-2009) Web site
I've just researched and written a page about this for my website. There are many factors possibly implicated in the decline of bees, including pesticides such as clothianidin as well as other environmental factors such as climate change, GM foods, loss of wildflowers and increased mobile phone mast.
In the UK Bayer has managed to get its pesticides classed as "bee-friendly" by the British Beekeepers Association!
The varroa mite is the end cause of a lot of deaths - but that begs the question as to why the bees are now so susceptible to it. It has spread worldwide in the last few decades.
Comment by: PT (David Alexander) (Sep-21-2008) Web site
I think you were right both times, City... if they are extremely significant they are probably essential (unless we don't mind losing, say, 50% of production of a wide variety of foods)!
Comment by: City Worker (Sep-21-2008)
I said it wrong. I understand that bees are essential, not extremely significant, in providing us with a huge proportion of our food.
Comment by: City Worker (Sep-21-2008)
Excellent that the root cause of the mass death of bees may have been found, and horrors if the United States bee keepers are either unaware of or in no position to remove the problem. I understand that bees play an extemely significant role in providing us with a huge proportion of our food.
Comment by: HeidiHomeEnergy (Heidi fromHomeEnergy) (Sep-21-2008) Web site
Great news post and kudos to Italy. @pt Organic granola, if certified organic, would have to contain organic honey.
Comment by: PT (David Alexander) (Sep-21-2008) Web site
Does anyone know whether the United States has taken similar actions? I have never heard it resolved here in the USA. I wonder whether we might even be protecting the makers of those pesticides. And, if the bees have been sucking up that poison as the article says, is the honey embedded in my morning granola, toxic? Oh - I do eat organic granola, so I assume the honey used in it is organic. Right??
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