Monday, March 21, 2016
In First
Use of Landmark Law, Minnesota Confirms Neonics Harm Bees
Two beekeepers have received compensation for
their hives being damaged from a neighbor farm's pesticide use
"This is the first action of any state,
a finding of fact, that neonicotinoids are harmful to bees," said state
Sen. Rick Hansen, a co-sponsor of the 2014 bill. (Photo: matt knoth/flickr/cc)
Minnesota has compensated two beekeepers who
say their hives were damaged by a controversial strain of pesticides known as
neonicotinoids, in the first test of a groundbreaking 2014 state
law.
"This is the first action of any state,
a finding of fact, that neonicotinoids are harmful to bees," state Sen.
Rick Hansen, a co-sponsor of the 2014 bill, said on Sunday. "Once you have
a state compensating people for a loss, it's real."
With this decision, investigators with the
state Department of Agriculture confirmed that these pesticides, which are in
widespread use throughout the country, are harmful to bees even
when used properly.
Lex Horan, a Minnesota-based organizer with
the Pesticide Action Network, told Common Dreams, "This was a
really important decision. It's important because it confirms a lot of what we
have known for a long time...pesticides are harmful to bees and other
pollinators."
"What's significant about it is we often
here from the pesticide industry that as long as they're used correctly, they
don't do any harm," Horan said. This case shows "there's a need for a
change in the regulation of these pesticides, and not laying the blame on the
farmers who are using them correctly."
The insecticide in question is clothianidin,
a neonicotinoid that has been linked to declining populations of honeybees,
bumblebees, and other insects and pollinators, which environmental activists
say threatens food supply.
Clothianidin is a seed coating used for corn
and soybean plants to fend off insects in the soil. As the plant grows, so does
the pesticide. The two beekeepers in the case say their hives were contaminated
when toxic dust floated onto their property from a neighbor's farm, where
clothianidin was being used.
The Star Tribune reports:
Beekeepers,
especially those in the Midwest, say that drift from corn planting is a common
and serious problem that occurs just when their bees need to be out collecting
nectar for the honey crop in springtime.
"We
are still having issues with corn planting and treated seeds," said Gary
Reuter, a researcher with the University of Minnesota’s bee laboratory, who
works with beekeepers around the state.
Seed coating is not considered an
"application" of pesticides, unlike spraying, because farmers buy the
seeds already coated, the Star Tribune said.
Kristy Allen, one of the beekeepers
compensated in Sunday's decision, said that loophole indicates the process is
"broken."
"The fact that MDA [Minnesota Department
of Agriculture] is compensating me for something that is not illegal is crazy
to me," she told the Star Tribune. "It means something is
broken."
The state agriculture department is
reportedly conducting a more comprehensive investigation into neonicotinoid use
in Minnesota, with results expected later this month.
Horan said the decision should be a
"wake-up call" for state and federal regulators. "Same goes for
the EPA," he said. "Historically, they haven't paid enough attention
to this issue in particular."
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has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
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