Where Have All the Honeybees Gone?
Written by : Lee Ann Rush
Since 2006, a strange phenomenon has been occurring in the United States, Europe, and other countries across the globe: the honeybee population is disappearing. Opinions vary regarding the root cause of this mass die-off of honeybees, known as colony collapse disorder; some blame parasites, bacteria, loss of natural habitat, poor nutrition or genetic issues. The primary culprit, however, is the widespread use of pesticides manufactured by none other than Monsanto, the creators of GMO “Frankenveggies,” and its brethren: Syngenta, Bayer, Dow and Dupont, who, in combination, effectively control 100% of the global market for genetically-modified plants, seeds and pesticides. These pesticides, already banned in countries such as Switzerland, Italy, France, Russia, Slovenia and the Ukraine, contain a class of nicotine-related neuroactive chemicals known as neonicotinoids that have proven fatal to the earth’s honeybee population.
What’s so important about honeybees? Well, it’s certainly not just the honey they produce. (Are you aware that most commercial honey found in retail stores is not really honey at all? It’s true, but that’s a topic for another day!) These amazing insects pollinate over 90 flowering crops, including fruits and vegetables such as apples, asparagus, avocados, broccoli, citrus fruits, cranberries, nuts and soybeans: foods that comprise approximately one third of the human diet. Without honeybees, there will eventually be global famine. In fact, concern about the disappearance of bees and its effect on global food supply is so great in other parts of the globe that a recent diplomatic meeting scheduled in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry almost didn’t occur due to Putin’s complete outrage over the recently-passed Monsanto Protection Act, which was pushed through Congress in March, 2013 as a little-noticed rider to an essential spending bill, and rubber-stamped by President Barack Obama (see my earlier blog entitled “Frankenveggies and the Monsanto Protection Act”), and Kerry’s refusal to even discuss it with him. According to minutes from the meeting, the Kremlin is warning that if this “bee apocalypse” is allowed to continue, the ensuing food shortages “will most certainly” lead to world war: a sobering statement, indeed.
On December 1, 2013, the entire European Commission, comprised of 27 countries, will begin a two-year precautionary ban on these bee-killing pesticides. Most notable among the culprit pesticides are Actara and Cruiser, both manufactured by Swiss biotech and pesticide giant Syngenta, the same company that in 2012 was criminally charged in Germany for fatally poisoning cattle with its GMO corn, and also reached a $105 million settlement in a class action lawsuit alleging that its herbicide Atrazine had contaminated the drinking water supply of 52 million Americans in over 2000 water districts. This is serious stuff.
Currently, a coalition of American beekeepers and environmentalists are suing the Environmental Protection Agency over its continued support of neonicotinoids, stating, “We are taking the EPA to court for its failure to protect bees from pesticides. Despite our best efforts to warn the agency about the problems posed by neonicotinoids, the EPA continue(s) to ignore the clear warning signs of an agricultural system in trouble.” Let’s hope that the plaintiffs prevail.
