Bayer CropScience LP has agreed to pay Massachusetts $75,000 and caved in to the state’s demand that it stop saying that its neonicotinoid pesticides are like “giving a daily vitamin” to plants, when the chemicals have been linked with honeybee colony collapse disorder. [1]
Source: Compound Interest
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made an announcement just a few months ago concerning the loss of honeybees that will undoubtedly make environmentalists say “I told you so,” and for good reason. The agency says that a pesticide widely sprayed on grains, vegetables, fruit, and other crops across the United States is threatening honeybees. [3]
The announcement could bolster efforts to have imidacloprid, a nicotine-imitating chemical, banned nationwide.
The New Year starts with more positive news. Aldi Süd, a German supermarket chain with stores in the U.S., has become the first major European retailer to ban pesticides toxic to bees, including the neonicotinoids imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam, from all produce sold in their stores. [1]
The announcement was made January 1st, with the retailer expecting fruit and vegetable suppliers for their stores to comply with their new policy ASAP. The following pesticides will no longer be tolerated:
The world is already well aware of the many nasty effects of pesticides, but in missing its own risk assessment deadline in 2015 for atrazine, glyphosate, and imidacloprid, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sends a clear message to those concerned about biological diversity and human health. If the EPA isn’t doing the business of pushing biotech’s agenda, the agency isn’t interested in protecting life.
