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Insecticides are Officially Linked to the Disappearance of Bees. Am I Surprised? Not at All.
The very serious issue we face with colony collapse disorder (CCD) is something that should be on everyone’s radar screen.
Basically, the bees are disappearing. And why should we care exactly that the bees are disappearing?
Well, bees pollinate our plants and without bees, we have four years to live.
While many people believe that CCD is a result of GMOs and the toxic chemicals that we spray on them, there is incredible denial from the chemical industry.
In an article published the other day in Environmental Science & Technology titled “Assessment of the Environmental Exposure of Honeybees to Particulate Matter Containing Neonicotinoid Insecticides Coming from Corn Coated Seeds,” new research identifies a direct link between the bees dying and insecticides used on corn.
The report claims that neonicotinoid insecticides “are among the most widely used in the world, popular because they kill insects by paralyzing nerves but have lower toxicity for other animals.”
It went on to say that “European beekeepers have reported severe colony losses in the period of corn sowing (spring). As a consequence, seed-coating neonicotinoid insecticides that are used worldwide on corn crops have been blamed for honeybee decline.”
There we have it. At the same time that these insecticides are used, the bees are dying. Can it get any more clear than this?
A MUST-WATCH DOCUMENTARY ABOUT BEES
Several months ago, I reviewed a must-watch documentary about bees called Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us?
Here is the trailer.
This movie will give you an excellent education (and wake-up call) as to what is going on with the bees.
MY TAKE, WHAT TO DO
This report from Environmental Science & Technology is not a surprise to me at all.
The proliferation of GMOs and the toxic chemicals that are sprayed on our land are nothing but failed promises, destruction of our environment, and the pollution of our water supply.
I sincerely doubt that this report will cause a change of policy in our country. After all, this is an election year and the Obama administration has proven that it will rubber-stamp any GMO that the industry presents.
In case you didn’t know, the USDA is poised to approve a genetically-engineered corn that is resistant to 2,4-D. 2,4-D is one of the primary ingredients in Agent Orange, the herbicide used to kill hundreds of thousands in the Vietnam War.
If our government will allow 2,4-D to be sprayed on our crops, it certainly won’t have an issue with an insecticde that is killing bees.
So what can we do?
The best way to stop the proliferation of GMOs is to require that they be labeled.
There is a national campaign going on right now to mandate that the FDA label GMOs, and we need everyone’s support.
If people understood that approximately 80% of the supermarket shelves contain genetically-engineered ingredients, the demand for GMOs would drop significantly. However, most people are not aware of this because it is not required by law to state this fact on the packaging label.
As a result, consumers are not being given adequate information about what is in their food and we are being denied our very basic rights as Americans.
If we can get labeling approved, which is something that President Obama promised to do while on the campaign trail in 2007, this will really help reverse the situation with the bees.
Click HERE to learn more about the Just Label It campaign. And please sign your name and spread the world. This is too important to ignore.
Thank you so much for your support.
