Here is some great news for the New Year! Montreal, Canada is banning neuro-toxic neonicotinoids that have been linked to bee colony deaths, in order to save our pollinators, and our food supply. [1]
Neonicotinoids (neonics) are a class of nicotine-based pesticides that are sprayed everywhere. You will find over fifty varieties of seeds which grow into valuable fruits and vegetables sprayed by neonics. You’ll find neonics sprayed on golf courses, and football fields.
Though Montreal had limited the use of this debilitating class of pesticides in the past, it has now banned them completely due to mounting evidence that the chemicals cause disorientation, severe reproductive problems in the queen, and even early death in bee colonies. [2] [3]
The new total prohibition will likely make a dramatic impact on bee health.
“This tighter control of pesticides will, among other things, allow us to better protect bees and other pollinators,” Réal Ménard, Montreal’s executive committee member responsible for the environment, said in a news release.
This is also a move for tighter control overall for pesticide use within Quebec. Chemicals that have already been banned in Europe and that have been identified as high risk, such as Atrazine (made by biotech giant Syngenta) will be added to the list for tighter controls.
Other communities, cities, and even department stores have also taken action against neonicotinoids in light of the likely-dangers the chemicals pose on the pollinators and food supply at large.
Sources:
[1] CBC.ca/1.3360458
[2] CBC.ca/1.2700266
[3] Nature
Source