More than half a billion bees dropped dead in Brazil within 3 months

[Judi Lynn]

BY CAITLIN O'KANE

AUGUST 19, 2019 / 2:44 PM / CBS NEWS

More than half a billion bees dropped dead in Brazil within just three months, according to Bloomberg. Researchers say the main cause of death is pesticides, which could end up effecting more than the bees.

As some of the most integral pollinators in nature, bees contribute to the reproduction of various plants. About 75% of the world's crops depend on pollination by bees, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports.

FAO has warned about the importance of protecting bees to ensure food security. With 500 million dead in Brazil, the future of food has come into question.

. . .

Lab research pointed to pesticides with neonicotinoids and fipronil — products banned in Europe — as the main cause of death. The use of these bee-killing pesticides spiked under former President Michel Temer and current President Jair Bolsonaro, according to Greenpeace's Unearthed.

In just three years, 193 weedkillers and pesticides containing chemicals banned in the European Union were registered in Brazil, the Unearthed investigation revealed. Brazil has become the biggest buyer of pesticides in the world.

More:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-than-half-a-billion-bees-dropped-dead-in-brazil-within-3-months-and-environmentalists-are-worried/

Also posted in LBN:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142356900

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. As I asked in the other thread,

how many are left? I really want to see some context with numbers like this.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Bees Are Dropping Dead in Brazil and Sending a Message to Humans

19 AUGUST 2019

Bruce Douglas and Tatiana Freitas, Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) -- Death came swiftly for Aldo Machado’s honey bees. Less than 48 hours after the first apis mellifera showed signs of sickness, tens of thousands lay dead, their bodies piled in mounds.

“As soon as the healthy bees began clearing the dying bees out of the hives, they became contaminated,” said Machado, vice president of Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul beekeeping association. “They started dying en masse.”

Around half a billion bees died in four of Brazil’s southern states in the year’s first months. The die-off highlighted questions about the ocean of pesticides used in the country’s agriculture and whether chemicals are washing through the human food supply — even as the government considers permitting more. Most dead bees showed traces of Fipronil, a insecticide proscribed in the European Union and classified as a possible human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Since President Jair Bolsonaro took office in January, Brazil has permitted sales of a record 290 pesticides, up 27% over the same period last year, and a bill in Congress would relax standards even further. Manufacturers of newly permitted substances include Brazilian companies such as Cropchem and Ouro Fino, as well as global players including Arysta Lifescience Ltd., Nufarm Ltd. and Adama Agricultural Solutions Ltd. Giants such as Syngenta, Monsanto, BASF and Sumitomo also won new registrations.

More:
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/bees-are-dropping-dead-in-brazil-and-sending-a-message-to-humans-1.1303537

[Judi Lynn]

3. In the Last three Months Alone, Pesticides Have Killed Some 500 Million Bees in Brazil

According to Agência Pública and Repórter Brasil, some 500 million bees have died in the last three months in four Brazilian states: 400 million in Rio Grande do Sul, 7 million in São Paulo, 50 million in Santa Catarina, and 45 million in Mato Grosso do Sul.

By Xiu Ying -May 10, 2019

By Xiu Ying, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - Earlier this year, a large scale of bee deaths was reported in southern Brazil due to pesticides used in soybean plantations. In Rio Grande do Sul, about 80 percent of bees are dying because of Fipronil pesticides, which are used in soybean farming.

This issue is even more serious and extensive, given that it has been occurring in other states of the country.

https://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-politics/society/in-the-last-three-months-alone-pesticides-have-killed-some-500-million-bees-in-brazil/