Insecticide firms in secret bid to stop ban that could save bees

reply to post by Druid42

I just spent the whole day (from 10am to 6pm) reworking bee frames and nesting two more hives. We lost 4 hives over winter, did a double-split 2 weeks ago, and with the two new hives, back at 6 hives. Yes, I'm a beekeeper, and locally, everyone lost 50-70% of their hives.

Our local Bee Inspector, who had 40 hives, was dropped to 12 over winter. The losses are due to the weather, a warm snap, then cold, then warm again. The bees unclustered, then froze to death.

That's not including the stress from pesticides. That was just a natural event. Now......add in the stress of pesticides. If Mother Nature deals a bad hand, we really don't need to be adding to it with neonicotoidnals. But we are.

This will be a tough year for beekeepers, fighting weather, and mankind's poisons.

Crikey..! Well this is the problem. The bees are having a difficult time as it is with all the tumultuous weather these days. Nevermind having to contend with evil poisons..

I wish you lots of luck with your bees..! Sending positive buzzing vibes to you...

reply to post by Philippines

People still rely on government to tell them what to do. People are ready and waiting worldwide for someone to tell them what to do. Is this programmed?

How about farmers just stop voluntarily using chemicals on their crops? The people don't want it right? Or is someone telling the farmers what to do too, and they're complying as well?

You raise a valid point. However there have been many cases where a farmer has either refused to use such chemicals or seeds etc and companies like Monsanto take them to court..!

Also fear. Fear of having everything taken away from you.

What can a wee farmer do in resistance to a massive profit making machine like Monsanto.. They can try alone.. But they would be better to come together as one group and then state their case...

Last year, 270,000 organic farmers from around 60 family farms tried to take Monsanto to court over issues pertaining to a genetically-modified seed masterminded by the corporation. Not only were the smaller farms concerned over how the manufactured seeds had been carried by wind and creature alike onto their own plantations, but the biggest problem perhaps was that Monsanto was filing lawsuits themselves against farmers.

Monsanto went after hundreds of farmers for infringing on their patented seed after audits revealed that their farms had contained their product — as a result of routine pollination by animals and acts of nature. Unable to afford a proper defense, competing small farms have been bought out by the company in droves.

As a result, Monsanto saw their profits increase by the hundreds of millions over the last few years as a result. Between 1997 and 2010, Monsanto tackled 144 organic farms with lawsuits and investigated roughly 500 plantations annually during that span with a so-called “seed police.”

rt.com...

Originally posted by Thurisaz
reply to post by fluff007

 

yeah just read it on twitter... greenpeace hung a mighty big bloody sign off a building today.

Brilliant!

save the bees!

Yeah...! Wow what a fantastic picture..! Thanks for sharing

reply to post by Rocker2013


It is ridiculously scary... And worrying too. I cannot fathom why they do not care. They know exactly what will happen if the bees are killed off. Maybe they want a mass decline in population.

One thing is for sure. Whether our poor bees are here or not it will not affect the elite. They will not starve. They will not suffer. They will not die. They have money and power.

They just do not care. They started off as innocent babes and have become egocentric brutes corrupted by the affects of money and power. They are so desensitised to their fellow brothers and sisters that all that matters in life is money and control...

It is very very sad to see.

these people are like comic book villains, willingly risking an entire species and the health of our own to line their own pockets.

Yes..! Everyday I watch the news stories come out. And everyday they get worse. More ludicrous and just simply *insert profanity*-ing crazy..!!!!!!

reply to post by Thurisaz


Oh hells yeah...!!!!!

reply to post by fluff007


It is only a partial ban and I am just waiting to find out more as to what that exactly means.



Great thread by the way... kudos to you for starting a thread about it!

reply to post by Thurisaz

It is only a partial ban and I am just waiting to find out more as to what that exactly means.

I know. But it is a step in the right direction. You have to learn to walk before you can run.

Great thread by the way... kudos to you for starting a thread about it!

Thanks..! I love bees. They are one of my favourite critters. And anytime I see anything about bees in the news I post it here or on social media sites. I tell as many people as I can..! Especially those who only read the newspapers and watch TV.

Information is a powerful tool. We need to learn to use it more to our advantage.

reply to post by Thurisaz


I managed to find this..

to call for a partial two-year ban on the three neonicotinoids in question, which would have applied to the cultivation of maize, sunflowers, rape and cotton. The use of pesticides on winter cereals and plants which do not attract bees would still have been allowed. The ban would have entered into force in the summer.

www.europarl.europa.eu...//EP//TEXT+WQ+E-2013-002694+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN

Maybe the fact they would still be allowed to use the neonicotinoids in the winter equates to the partial ban...?

Seemingly there is very little information on exactly what a partial ban entails and how exactly they are going to reinforce these restrictions...

reply to post by fluff007


Yeah, that it seems like. As there are no bees in the winter, then these are only allowed at winter. At least that is what I understood from the local news.

Although I am still interested in how it can affect the bees, as there will probably be some chemicals left from the winter crops, which could affect the bees in the summer.

I seriously do hope that more harmful pesticides will not be used. That was one of the arguments on the chemical company side: " If these are banned, farmers would use other more harmful pesticides". Although as some countries had already tried out temporary bans and that had not happened in these countries. I hope the chemical companies will not start pushing the harmful pesticides on the farmers, although it might be likely.

I do not get some people at all to be honest. How can money more important than anything else... These chemical companies seem to be wanting just profits, nothing else. Even if their products pollute, they try to hide it in order to earn more. It just makes me sick, although there are so many people in the world who act like that - so many idiots, who do not care about anything than money.

This ban restored some of my faith in EU. I am so happy it went through.

reply to post by Cabin

I seriously do hope that more harmful pesticides will not be used. That was one of the arguments on the chemical company side: " If these are banned, farmers would use other more harmful pesticides". Although as some countries had already tried out temporary bans and that had not happened in these countries. I hope the chemical companies will not start pushing the harmful pesticides on the farmers, although it might be likely.

I know it is unbelievable..! They do not need to use more harmful pesticides. I do not understand why they do not look at the more natural methods of farming - modernise them - making them more efficient and higher yielding.

They should take a leaf out of this guys book:

India's rice revolution
In a village in India's poorest state, Bihar, farmers are growing world record amounts of rice – with no GM, and no herbicide. Is this one solution to world food shortages?

Kumar, a shy young farmer in Nalanda district of India's poorest state Bihar, had – using only farmyard manure and without any herbicides – grown an astonishing 22.4 tonnes of rice on one hectare of land. This was a world record and with rice the staple food of more than half the world's population of seven billion, big news.

www.guardian.co.uk...

All they need to bloody do is give the poor crops a bit of TLC. We need to all become more akin to the mother spirit. We need to nurture and love.

It would also create more jobs.

reply to post by fluff007


Oh yeah..!




Bee-harming pesticides banned in Europe

Europe will enforce the world's first continent-wide ban on widely used insecticides linked to serious harm in bees, after a European commission vote on Monday.

www.guardian.co.uk...

Originally posted by fluff007


Yes...! I am praying that this ban goes through..!

In many ways this is thanks to all the people who have signed petitions and sent emails outlining their outrage at these horrible chemicals killing off our bee-autiful bees...

Europe is on the brink of a landmark ban on the world's most widely used insecticides, which have increasingly been linked to serious declines in bee numbers.

Despite intense secret lobbying by British ministers and chemical companies against the ban, revealed in documents obtained by the Observer, a vote in Brussels on Monday is expected to lead to the suspension of the nerve agents.

I am disgusted that the UK and the chemical companies have been trying their best with a behind-the-scenes campaign to sabotage this ban. Do they not realise that we need the bees...! It makes me so cross. Even though they have had ministers like David Cameron publicly saying that 'If we do not look after our bee populations, very serious consequences will follow'..
He is a liar.. He does not care about the bees..

But luckily there are European Union officials who do care. And they are now being targeted by the big chemical companies, especially Syngenta who has even threatened to sue some of these individual officials. As they will lose out on their billions of profits..

A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "As the proposal currently stands we could not support an outright ban. We have always been clear that a healthy bee population is our top priority, that's why decisions need to be taken using the best possible scientific evidence and we want to work with the commission to achieve this. Any action taken must be proportionate and not have any unforeseen knock-on effects."

www.guardian.co.uk...

Lastly I think sites such as Avaaz have contributed a huge amount in helping stop these mad ideas that seems to be popping up worldwide.. And it is truly incredible to see that many many times these online petitions reach their targets very quickly..!

Save our Bee-loved Bees...! Sign the petition:

www.avaaz.org...

Peace
fluff

NEWS just on bbc1 six oclock news they got the ban hooray
fluffy007 beat me to it

see above

reply to post by maryhinge


The " SMART" people of the world that rule over us create the solutions first then the PROBLEM.

It is highly probable Monsanto had already invented genetically modified "SELF POLINATING PLANTS" and then to put it in place the bee's would have to be eliminated,Monsanto rushing in to save the day WILL BE THE HEADLINES wile they make billions on the scam.

reply to post by supergravity

It is highly probable Monsanto had already invented genetically modified "SELF POLINATING PLANTS" and then to put it in place the bee's would have to be eliminated,Monsanto rushing in to save the day WILL BE THE HEADLINES wile they make billions on the scam.

Nevermind self pollinating plants. Harvard has created the RoboBee....

Coordinated agile robotic insects can be used for a variety of purposes including:
autonomously pollinating a field of crops;
search and rescue (e.g., in the aftermath of a natural disaster);
hazardous environment exploration;
military surveillance;
high resolution weather and climate mapping;
and traffic monitoring.

These are the ubiquitous applications typically invoked in the development of autonomous robots. However, in mimicking the physical and behavioral robustness of insect groups by coordinating large numbers of small, agile robots, we will be able to accomplish such tasks faster, more reliably, and more efficiently.

robobees.seas.harvard.edu...

Originally posted by fluff007
In many ways this is thanks to all the people who have signed petitions and sent emails outlining their outrage at these horrible chemicals killing off our bee-autiful bees...

Commercial bees (not free-range bees) are dying because of high demand for honey and questionable practices in the commercial bee industry. Not conspiracies. Not insecticides.

This sort of behavior is what got the Conservatives voted out and replaced by New Labour 14 years ago.
Conservatives couldn't help but keep tripping over themselves in the rush to please every company that wanted special favors. The left-wing newspapers had a field day exposing every bung, brown-envelope stuffed with cash, freebie gift and free holidays that every MP received. Invariably it was tied up to some international company which had gained a rather unpleasant reputation for money-laundering, pollution or breaking safety laws.

So they're in a situation where a chemicals company could lose billions if their products are banned. They might even untold numbers of lawsuits or class-action claims if the bee populations recover and they are proved to be the cause.

Originally posted by fluff007
reply to post by creatives

 

The human race would not become totally extinct if the bees became extinct.. But there would be a huge decline in the population... Bees pollinate over 30 percent of the world's crops..

However it would not do us any favours if our poor bees died out.. They need to be saved..!

More along the lines of over 70%. Figured I'd point that out since the number is much more substantial.

Just read the ban went through. More happy for the bees than us, but it's good we stood up to it... People have more power than they think and this is proof of that.

This article about the EU ban just hit MSN.COM, so if it caught the MSM eyes, then I think thats a good thing, leave it to the EU to lead the way.
EU the brains
US the muscle
CHI the workers

reply to post by fluff007


forgot your SnF

LOOKS LIKE YOUR (OUR) PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED

:chees:

Originally posted by fluff007
Save our Bee-loved Bees...! Sign the petition:

Have already signed and good for Avaaz. I encourage all to join the movement Avaaz

Problem is that this is a doubled edged sword and my fear is that less pesticides will bring more genetically engineered crops that contain built-in insecticides that are less obvious but as serious - for example:

Transgenic crops' built-in pesticide found to be contaminating waterways

When man starts fiddling with Nature, then there is no end to the patching and hiding and ...

Always looking for the short cuts and quick fixes to gain$$$$$$$$$'s and never mind the long term consequences that will become someone else's problem.