April 28, 2014
Editor’s Note: Agricultural retailers educate farmers on proper use of agricultural chemcials to protect crops and the environment. Bees need farmers to receive science-based education and advice as illustrated below in a poorly-informed letter from the National Farmers Union of Canada which called for a “5-year moratorium on the use of neonicotinoid seed treatments on corn and soybeans in Ontario and Quebec” even though neonic bans are associated with the loss of bee colonies. By contrast, a former associate dean for research and innovation in the Ontario Agricultural College at University of Guelph explained:
- “In France, the number of bee colonies dropped by 25% after a neonic ban was imposed in 1999.”
- In Ontario, “bee colony numbers are increasing, climbing almost 50%…since neonic seed treatments were introduced in 2004.”
By educating farmers, agricultural retailers befriend bees with science.
From: National Farmers Union
Letter to Health Minister Ambrose: Neonicotinoid Seed Treatments and the Health of Bees and Pollinators
April 22, 2014
Hon. Rona Ambrose, Minister of Health
Health Canada
Brooke Claxton Building, Tunney’s Pasture
Postal Location: 0906C
Ottawa, ONK1A 0K9
Dear Minister Ambrose:
Re: Neonicotinoid Seed Treatments and the Health of Bees and Pollinators
The National Farmers Union (NFU) represents a diversity of family farms across Canada. Our organization works towards the development of economic and social policies that will maintain family farms as the primary food producers in Canada. The NFU believes agriculture should be economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.
As farmers, NFU members are deeply committed to working with nature to both produce healthy food and to protect and enhance biodiversity within and surrounding our farms. By building our knowledge and skills in organic, ecological, integrated pest management (IPM) and low input farm practices, we strive to protect the many organisms, including bees and wild pollinators, which provide economic benefits to our farms and contribute to a more biodiverse countryside.
Read Complete Letter
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