Pesticide-Maker Gets Early Look At Bee Disease Report

Maryam Henein -- Penn State University (PSU) recently issued a preliminary report to two outlets: the Environmental Protection Agency (which some beekeepers refer to as the Environmental Polluting Agency) and Bayer Chemical Company. "Doesn't that sound strange to you," asked one of the big beekeepers from the east coast who lost about 2,500 hives due to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) this year. (Incidentally, he recently returned from meeting with Hillary Clinton, who, it seems, talks about the bees nearly everyday.) Back to Bayer. The German pharmaceutical and chemical company makes way more than chewable aspirin for children. Expect Wonders! (their slogan) They have a crop science division that manufactures and sells pesticides. Their most popular product is Imidacloprid (Emadâ-Ah-Cloprid). They market it under lots of fun names such as Poncho, Admire, Calypso and Gaucho. These substances belong in a class of chemicals called neonicotinoids (neeoh-nic-it-ehnoids), "systemic" pesticides which when applied to seeds, are absorbed into and through the entire plant. So when an insect, like say a honey bee, feeds on let's say it's pollen or nectar it can get a dose of a neurotoxin that can effect the bees nervous and immune system. This then can disorient the honey bee. Disoriented, they buzz around in a chemical fog and cannot make it back home. If a bee is away from the hive for about a day it will eventually die.

This pesticide was banned in France in 1999 for just this reason. Beekeepers suspected it was the culprit behind drastic and mysterious honey bee die offs, but they were more creative with their title and dubbed it "mad bee disease." Of course Bayer protested the ban, conducted their own study and found opposing results. These pesticides were not the culprit, they said, and their effects were "sub-lethal." (Is that supposed to be a comfort?) Bayer even went as far as to file a lawsuit against one of the beekeepers who led the enquiry. Let's play devil's advocate here and say it does weaken the bee and her immune system. If she then falls prey to disease and fungal infections due to her weakened condition, science can then blame fungus or disease x,y,z and the pesticides are home free. Nature is the culprit. These huge chemical companies have significant power. In 2006, sales of imidacloopid pesticides were somewhere near $756 million. That's about 10 percent of the company's $7.5 billion in total sales! It's Bayer's number one best-selling pesticide. And obviously Bayer and the other big boys of Agriculture give money to the congressmen and senators up on the hill.

Key players in the Farm Bill such as Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson of Minnesota has taken money from Bayer in the past. It wasn't much but, still, it's something. A little something to see if he'll give a lot of something in return? Now as far as the E.P.A is concerned -- lots of beekeepers aren't happy with that group. They do not conduct their own independent testing. Rather, they assume that companies like Bayer will be honest and trustworthy and let them know if any red flags pop up. Come on Now. This sounds like the fox guarding the chicken house, doesn't it? According to an insider, the PSU report states that they found pesticides, herbicides and fungicides in the pollen in high enough amounts to cause alarm. This may indicate that the food crop itself may be toxic. "This isn't evidence that this is what is causing direct harm to the bees," the source added. And while this may, or may not be so, it does seem pretty evident that pesticides aren't yummy for us.

Bayer is now responsible for looking at how the pesticides are being used or misused. So according to the source they need to go from grower to grower and conduct their own surveys. They are legally responsible. "Which translates into the protection of the beekeepers," my source added. Maybe. I am not convinced. How long is that all going to take? Will Bayer come forth and take some responsibility? When will this report be released to the public?

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