Leaked EPA doc. reveals agency knowingly allowed use of bee-toxic pesticide

[TalkingDog]

Because Corporations are far more important than bees or the food supply

http://www.fastcompany.com/1708896/wiki-bee-leaks-epa-document-reveals-agency-knowingly-allowed-use-of-bee-toxic-pesticide


The document, which was leaked to a Colorado beekeeper, shows that the EPA has ignored warnings about the use of clothianidin, a pesticide produced by Bayer that mainly is used to pre-treat corn seeds. The pesticide scooped up $262 million in sales in 2009 by farmers, who also use the substance on canola, soy, sugar beets, sunflowers, and wheat, according to Grist.

The leaked document (PDF) was put out in response to Bayer's request to approve use of the pesticide on cotton and mustard. The document invalidates a prior Bayer study that justified the registration of clothianidin on the basis of its safety to honeybees:

Clothianidin’s major risk concern is to nontarget insects (that is, honey bees). Clothianidin is a neonicotinoid insecticide that is both persistent and systemic. Acute toxicity studies to honey bees show that clothianidin is highly toxic on both a contact and an oral basis. Although EFED does not conduct RQ based risk assessments on non-target insects, information from standard tests and field studies, as well as incident reports involving other neonicotinoids insecticides (e.g., imidacloprid) suggest the potential for long-term toxic risk to honey bees and other beneficial insects.

The entire 101-page memo is damning (and worth a read). But the opinion of EPA scientists apparently isn't enough for the agency, which is allowing clothianidin to keep its registration.

[WingDinger]

1. That is shocking

[gratuitous]

2. Well, look for the new Democratic administration to stop this dead in its tracks

The leaking of the memo, not the use of Clothianidin. What were you all thinking?

Besides, who's really all that concerned about colony collapse in bees? All they do is sting people! We're saving thousands, maybe millions, of Americans from getting stung by bees! In fact, we have a whole bunch of public opinion polls that show that the vast majority of Americans don't want to get stung by bees. So if this concerns you at all, you're clearly in a vanishingly small minority, and you secretly want Americans to get bee stings, you heartless bastard.