Wik-Bee Leaks: EPA Document Shows It Knowingly Allowed Pesticide That Kills Honey Bees
BY Ariel SchwartzFri Dec 10, 2010




The world honey bee population has plunged in recent years, worrying beekeepers and farmers who know how critical bee pollination is for many crops. A number of theories have popped up as to why the North American honey bee population has declined--electromagnetic radiation, malnutrition, and climate change have all been pinpointed. Now a leaked EPA document reveals that the agency allowed the widespread use of a bee-toxic pesticide, despite warnings from EPA scientists.

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.

Suspicions about clothianidin aren't new; the EPA's Environmental Fate and Effects Division (EFAD) first expressed concern when the pesticide was introduced, in 2003, about the "possibility of toxic exposure to nontarget pollinators [e.g., honeybees] through the translocation of clothianidin residues that result from seed treatment." Clothianidin was still allowed on the market while Bayer worked on a botched toxicity study [PDF], in which test and control fields were planted as close as 968 feet apart.

Clothianidin has already been banned by Germany, France, Italy, and Slovenia for its toxic effects. So why won't the EPA follow? The answer probably has something to do with the American affinity for corn products. But without honey bees, our entire food supply is in trouble.



Read it Here

Timeline of a Bee Massacre: EPA Still Allowing Hive-Killing Pesticide
BY Ariel SchwartzTue Dec 14, 2010

Beekeepers across the U.S. are reporting record low honey cropsas their bees fail to make it through the winter. One-third of American agriculture, which relies on bee pollination, is at stake. And the problem may be at least partially attributable to clothianidin, a Bayer-branded pesticide used on corn and other crops.

But as we revealed last week, the EPA knew that clothianidin could be toxic when the product came on the market in 2003. So why is it still on the market?





The bee-toxic pesticide problem can be traced back to 1994, when the first neonicotinoid pesticide (Imidacloprid) was released. Neonicotinoids like imidacloprid and clothianidin disrupt the central nervous system of pest insects, and are supposed to be relatively non-toxic to other animals. But there's a problem: The neonicotinoids coat plant seeds, releasing insecticides permanently into the plant. The toxins are then released in pollen and nectar--where they may cause bees to become disoriented and die.

After imidacloprid was released in France (under the name Gaucho) the number of bees in the country dropped rapidly, from 75 kg per hive down to 30 kg per hive between 1995 and 2001. France conducted an official study on the pesticide in 1998, but found no solid evidence that imidacloprid played a part in bee deaths. Nevertheless, Imidacloprid was banned for use on sunflowers and, later, sweet corn.

Enter clothianidin, a next-generation neonicotinoid released by Bayer in 2003. "In terms of the neonicotonoid family, clothianidin is one of the most toxic members," explains Dr. James Frazier, a professor of entomology at Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

The EPA first brought up the link between clothianidin and bees before the pesticide's release in February 2003. The agency originally planned to withhold registration of the pesticide because of concerns about toxicity in bees, going so far as to suggest that the product come with a warning label (PDF): "This compound is toxic to honey bees. The persistance of residues and the expression clothianidin in nectar and pollen suggest the possibility of chronic toxic risk to honey bee larvae and the eventual stability of the hive."

But in April 2003, the EPA decided to give Bayer conditional registration. Bayer could sell the product and seed processors could freely use it, with the proviso that Bayer complete a life cycle study of clothianidin on corn by December 2004. Bayer was granted an extension until May 2005 (and permission to use canola instead of corn in its tests), but didn't complete the study until August 2007. The EPA continued to allow the sale of clothianidin, and once the Bayer study finally came out, it was flawed.

In a statement to the Pesticide Action Network, beekeeper Jeff Anderson explains:

"The Bayer study is fatally flawed. It was an open field study with control and test plots of about 2 acres each. Bees typically forage at least 2 miles out from the hive, so it is likely they didn’t ingest much of the treated crops. And corn, not canola, is the major pollen-producing crop that bees rely on for winter nutrition.

"This is a critical point because we see hive losses mainly after over-wintering, so there is something going on in these winter cycles. It’s as if they designed the study to avoid seeing clothianidin’s effects on hive health." [Emphasis ours]

The U.S. bee population didn't start dying off until 2005, says David Hackenberg, the beekeeper who first discovered Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). "We started seeing problems where bees were disappearing in the fall. We blamed it on mites, viruses and a lot of other stuff because we didn't know what to blame it on."

But soon Hackenberg made the connection: bee die-off seemed to follow corn crop plantings so much that "you can follow the trail of this stuff to where bees are collapsing," says Hackenberg.

Snip

The new study, unearthed by Colorado beekeeper Tom Theobald, invalidates Bayer's previous study, claiming that "after another review of this field study in light of additional information, deficiencies were identified that render the study supplemental. It does not satisfy the guideline 850.3040, and another field study is needed to evaluate the effects of clothianidin on bees through contaminated pollen and nectar." The study also warns that clothiandin is highly toxic to bees on both a contact and oral basis.

And yet, the EPA is continuing to allow the sale of clothiandin, even though the study that the agency based its decision on proved to be invalid. "It's a matter of perspective," says Frazier. "If the core study to judge registration is no longer considered a valid core study, do you allow continued use of something without good scientific data behind it? That's the choice that's been left to be made by the EPA."

Snip


Is it really worth waiting to find out what happens if the EPA doesn't take neonicotinoids off the market? There isn't time to waste. Clothiandin has a half-life of 19 years in heavy soils favored by farmers.

The EPA has not responded to our requests for comment.


Whole Story Here

. . .

Thanks for the great thread, Sky, I always knew there was something planned about the honey bee demise, but didn't have any facts. ONE THIRD of US agriculture depends on honey bees for pollination. How will THAT affect the food supply, both lack of it, and higher prices? Rhetorical question.

Well, let's see who is tied to Bayer... I have read the info, but want to double check and get links before I post anything. to be con.

I am happy to lay a bet of a penny against a pound of Pig sh*t (as my grand pappy used to tell me! ) that these bastards have done some scheme where they will push a "smart" pollenation "tool" onto the market, or maybe self pollenating GMO's so the bee will be un-necessary for "fast" food production!!??!?!

Money - Money - money!!!

This info is so thin on the ground ruts, so I am happy to team up and produce a thick smear of data to post out later so we can get this known in the MSN! Maybe a GT-Leaks!!!

Follow the money is right, Sky.

Did a quick check on their political action committee and they pretty much donate 50/50 between Dems and Repubs.

Need to do a bit more checking to see who is on the Ag committee and see what type of "donation" Bayer has made.

Like you, Sky, I agree that they are working on something behind the scenes 'cause these folks didn't just fall off the turnip truck!

I'm going to post info randomly, since I don't have the time to write a real report, but I don't want to let this fall into the bottomless pit that is my memory.


from ATS, hat tip to SLAYER69 - link here: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread638388/pg1

*Apparently in Europe the culprit for the Bee die off was Clothianidin.
* Fist we seem to have the use and spread of a highly toxic insecticide called Clothianidin and then we have genetic manipulation of certain food crops that may be attacking Bees and other insects which are food sources for Bats.
*

from http://www.truth-it.net/ig_farben_facts.html




ruts: One important fact I glean from these quotes is that Rockefeller merged his drug cartel with IG Farben's. IG Farben's main company is/was Bayer. The Nazi ties, while very interesting, I have to leave for the moment to concentrate on Bayer's role in the demise of honey bees (and bats?) One major fact that is crucial to understand Bayer's motives is their VERY CLOSE connection to Monsanto.

from DProgram.net link: http://dprogram.net/2010/10/14/revealed ... ow-dupont/

* Since the mid-1990s just five biotech giants – Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer, Dow and DuPont – have bought up more than 200 other companies between them to dominate our access to seeds.

Here's another Bayer pesticide that was already banned: story here: http://www.prisonplanet.com/bayer-pesti ... ybees.html

Bayer pesticide banned over threat to honeybees

Ethan A. Huff
Natural News
Monday, February 22, 2010

A U.S. District Judge from Manhattan has banned the sale of spirotetramat, a pesticide produced by Bayer CropScience. Citing allegations by environmental groups and commercial beekeepers that the pesticide is toxic and is killing off the nation’s honeybee population, Judge Denise Cote has declared that sales of spirotetramat must cease after January 15. continued; see above link:



This is just a sampling of some things I found about Bayer. There is of course much more.

Great job, Rutsie! Fascinating, indeed.

- Good work Ruts. Valuable record.

Thank you.