# Sierra Club wants treatments stopped now.



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

The Sierra Club accuses the U.S. Department of Agriculture of caving in to lobbyists over massive bee deaths and compares this with Germany taking a major step to keep their bees pollinating crops.


In light of the mounting evidence that new seed chemical coatings are deadly to bees and action by Germany calling for their immediate suspension, the Sierra Club reaffirmed its call for a U.S. moratorium on specific chemical treatments to protect our bees and crops until more study can be done. 

It cites Germany's federal agricultural research institute as saying, "It can unequivocally be concluded that poisoning of the bees is due to the rub-off of the pesticide ingredient clothianidin from corn seeds."

At issue are the neonicotinoids, including clothianidin, being used in a new way - as seed coatings. 

For years, farmers have been spraying neonicotinoids onto their crops to stop insect infestation. Now Bayer, Syngenta and Monsanto have acquired patents to coat their proprietary corn seeds with these neonicotinoids.

"Part of the equation in the U.S. is genetically engineered corn, as more and more corn seeds are being gene spliced with a completely different species -- a bacterium," says Walter Haefeker of the German Beekeepers Association Board of Directors. "Bayer and Monsanto recently entered into agreements to manufacture neonicotinic-coated genetically engineered corn. It's likely that this will worsen the bee die-off problem." 

A Sierra Club statement says American Beekeeping Federation former president David Hackenburg has been urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to do more study.

"Look at what's time based,â it quotes Hackenburg as saying. âThe massive bee decimation started when regulatory agencies rubber stamped the use of neonicotinoid spraying and coating."

Sierra Club genetic engineering committee chairman Laurel Hopwood says the club joins the concern of beekeepers.

"It's unfortunate that regulatory agencies are using double speak,â he says. âThey claim to protect our food supply - yet they aren't doing the proper studies. The loss of honeybees will leave a huge void in the kitchens of the American people and an estimated loss of $14 billion dollars to farmers. We call for a precautionary moratorium on these powerful crop treatments to protect our bees and our food."


----------



## farmergirl (Aug 2, 2005)

Is this stuff the blue colored coating I found on alot of the seeds for sale in bulk this year?

Proud Sierra Members, are we!


----------



## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Of all the beekeepers in my beekeeping association, the ones who keep their bees on commercial agriculture are the only ones facing CCD losses. Neither myself nor any of the other amateur beekeepers have suffered any losses. Perhaps it's just a matter of scale and random luck. 

I don't know though. I think there might be something to the pesticide thing.


----------



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

:clap: France has stoped the use of neonicotinoids in pest sprays a few years ago. They felt it was a major cause of honey bee losses.
Havn't seen any data on if they feel it helps. 

 Al


----------



## foxtrapper (Dec 23, 2003)

I've always thought that a problem with bees flying out into the flowers and never coming back sounds a whole lot like a pesticide issue out in the fields.

Anyhow, the Sierra Club on their web page makes it clear that they blame bee keepers and the use of genetically modified crops for CCD. They even describe CCD as "bee AIDS". The bee keepers feed them corn syrup and old hive parts, making them sick. Genetically modified crops alters the bee DNA, giving them AIDS. And we need to ban the planting of any altered crops or we're all gonna die. It's kinda hard to take stuff like that seriously.


----------



## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

The problem with absolutists like the Sierra Club is that there's no middle ground. They are extremists and all they manage to do is muddy the waters.

I'm against pesticides, genetically altered crops, biofuels, and synthetic foodstuffs ... but if I say these things then people paint me with the same brush that they do the Sierra Club ecofreaks.


----------



## farmergirl (Aug 2, 2005)

I am a Sierra Club member but don't think of myself as an "EcoFreak" as you say. I rather believe myself to be quite rational


----------



## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

I'm sure you do. 

I'm a NRA member, though I've come to despise a lot of their commentary and viewpoints. (The 2nd Amendment grants us gun rights in order to shoot DESPOTS, not DEER!) Not every member of an organization is going to be the same, surely. I'm guilty of painting with the same broad brush.


----------



## reginabee (May 15, 2008)

I support the work of the Sierra Club and Greenpeace and WWF and on and on as well. So, go ahead and call me all the names ya want! If the world had more folks that cared, we probably wouldnt have CCD to begin with. It's funny though that CCD HAPPENS to coincide with the timeframe of GMO crop experimentation..... although there is a province in China where the bees are already extinct...(from the PBS special). I definitely believe it is mostly the abuse of pesticides which have weakened the bees immune systems.


----------



## barelahh (Apr 13, 2007)

reginabee said:


> I support the work of the Sierra Club and Greenpeace and WWF and on and on as well. So, go ahead and call me all the names ya want! If the world had more folks that cared, we probably wouldnt have CCD to begin with. It's funny though that CCD HAPPENS to coincide with the timeframe of GMO crop experimentation..... although there is a province in China where the bees are already extinct...(from the PBS special). I definitely believe it is mostly the abuse of pesticides which have weakened the bees immune systems.


?? what pesticides? Farmers here in ks don't use pesticides on wheat, milo or any of their crops here. I buy wheat from the co-op and grind it for my flour. 
the pesticide is used as a last resort in a IPM management program. it breaks down into inert ingredients. Its far too expensive to spray it just for the sake of spraying it. When the cost of the loss exceeds the cost of the pesticide, then they use the pesticide and not before.


----------



## foxtrapper (Dec 23, 2003)

reginabee said:


> It's funny though that CCD HAPPENS to coincide with the timeframe of GMO crop experimentation


Genetic modifications have been going on for centuries. Crops, livestock, flowers, pets, etc. All genetically modified to suit human desires.



> I definitely believe it is mostly the abuse of pesticides which have weakened the bees immune systems


So why'd you blame genetic modifications of crops just one sentence earlier?



> If the world had more folks that cared, we probably wouldnt have CCD to begin with


"all we need is love" Tralalala, and we'll all dance happily through the daisies.


----------



## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

that's what happened to the romans...they messed up with the genetic modification when they accidently used BP (black plague) instead of BT in their gene splicing endeavors. 

i don't see how someone can compare the selective breeding of plants to the crossing of entirely unrelated biological material.


----------



## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

Glad we do our beekeeping in the middle of beef ranching country. Hardly anyone grows any row crops in our area. We are strictly organic on our farm. We've had no problem with die off. Most of the people we know don't use pesticides just cause they are too darn expensive anyhow. It is a shame how our country bows to the big ag companies before all the facts are in on their new ideas. Most Americans haven't got clue one where their food was grown...too busy complaining about the cost. But that is a whole other subject! DEE


----------



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Take a really good look around and you will find it isn't just the big ag companys that rule the roost in this country. It is big bussness as a whole. Many of the companys are so intwined it looks like a snake pit when you try to unravel them too. And they usally are snakes too.

Why is any CEO of any company worth or needing mutli millons a year in wages?
Company profit I understand as well as stock dividins.

 Al


----------

