Archives – November, 2017
Editor’s Note: Regulatory policies based on a panic-first, verify-later basis, i.e., the precautionary principle, ignore science and the public interest. See, The Precautionary Principle: An Affront to Science.
From: FarmingUK
Fipronil crisis: Egg poison test results may have been wrong, analysis says
Some of the eggs found to have been contaminated during the recent fipronil crisis may have been clear of the chemical, new analysis has found.
The revelation that some test results may have been wrong comes in a European Commission report following an assessment of the performance of labs involved in the fipronil testing.
November 29, 2017
Editor’s Note: For information about non-science based campaign to ban neonics based on the substances’ purported effects on songbirds, see here, here, and here.
From: The Guardian
The experimental study is the first to directly show harm to songbirds, extending the known impacts of neonicotinoids beyond insects
Damian Carrington
The world’s most widely used insecticide may cause migrating songbirds to lose their sense of direction and suffer drastic weight loss, according to new research.
Read Complete Article
November 29, 2017
From: Spalding Today
Will Gove be good for farmers?
Farmer RICHARD BARLOW considers the future for farmers post-Brexit
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Michael Gove, is obviously an intelligent and ambitious Secretary of State, responsible for the environment, food and rural affairs. Whether he will be good for farming is yet to be seen. The correct decisions are not always the most popular, but will his pursuit of higher office mean he takes the populist route too often?
November 28, 2017
From: Horticulture Week
RHS considers withdrawing Perfect for Pollinators
by Matthew Appleby
The RHS is considering the future of its Perfect for Pollinators logo and whether it should withdraw it from the market since it cannot “police” how plants are grown.
The move follows the publication of a study from University of Sussex’s Professor Dave Goulson earlier this year which claimed to have found ‘bee-friendly’ plants for sale with traces of one of the three neonicotinoid-based insecticide products banned by the EU (imidacloprid, thiamethoxam or clothianidin).
Read Complete Article
November 27, 2017
Editor’s Note: The Democratic Unionist Party provides critical support for Prime Minister May’s government.
From: UK House of Commons
Early day motion 590
NEONICOTINOIDS
- Session: 2017-19
- Date tabled: 23.11.2017
- Primary sponsor:
- Sponsors:
That this House welcomes the Government’s commitment to uphold the complete ban on neonicotinoid pesticides; and urges the Government to undertake to rebuild the habitats that enable the bee population to flourish and by extension our crops and countryside to thrive.
November 24, 2017
Editor’s Note: Anti-neonic activists will not stop with banning neonicotinoids, they want to ban much of modern agriculture, see here.
From: Molly Scott Cato, Green MEP for the South West
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Many environmentalists have been astonished by the public posture of Michael Gove since he took over at DEFRA. In the few months he has been environment secretary, he has offered us small but juicy tidbits like a bottle deposit scheme or a public attack on the ivory trade. And last week he pulled out his trump card: a ban on bee-killing neonicotinoid insecticides.
November 22, 2017
Editor’s Note: See, The Economic Benefits of Neonicotinoid Seed Treatement: A Federal Research Plan and Canada’s PMRA Puts Dollar Value On Neonic Seed Treatments.
From: Farmers Guardian
UK farmers ‘must learn lessons’ from New Zealand on agricultural reform
UK farmers should not look to New Zealand as a ‘recipe’ for how to deal with major agricultural reform but learn lessons from a country which saw the overnight removal of subsidies lead to a major increase in efficiency and innovation
Olivia Midgley
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November 21, 2017
Editor’s Note: It is “the global trade in honey bees and migratory beekeeping practices within countries,” not neonics, that poses the greatest threat to bees. See here and here.
From: EcoJustice
Bees v. government & industry, round two
Charles Hatt, Lawyer
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This case is an example of the great endurance litigation demands. Thanks to your support, we’ve not only been able to launch this lawsuit, but we’ve been able to successfully resist repeated attempts to block our clients – and pollinators – from getting their day in court. Thank you!
November 20, 2017
Editor’s Note: Under US EPA risk assessment procedures, source studies must meet the standards set by the Data Quality Act and its implementing guidance in order to be considered. Will EFSA hold its source studies to similar standards?
From: Food Ingredients 1st
Neonicotinoid pesticides: EFSA to update risk assessment to bees early next year
There are just a few months to go before the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) updates its risk assessment on the potential risks to bees from neonicotinoid pesticides. The assessments for clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam will be finalized next February, following a final round of consultation with pesticide experts in the Member States.
November 17, 2017
From: The Guardian
Peter Melchett of the Soil Association bemoans the power held by the chemical industry; Huw Jones writes that agricultural policy needs expert understanding, not just political opportunism; plus letters from Deb Nicholson, Graeme Taylor and Bruce Friedrich
It’s great that Michael Gove has accepted the overwhelming scientific evidence that neonicotinoids are killing bees, other insects and birds, although it is a sad commentary on how safety decisions on pesticides have been taken up to now (Plan bee – Britain to reverse opposition to ban on colony-killing pesticide, says Gove, 9 November). The fact is that the political and economic power of the chemical industry have had far more influence than the results of independent scientific research.
November 16, 2017
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