U.S. pesticide makers seek answers as bee losses sting agriculture

[LeighAnn]

Source: Chicago Tribune

Monsanto Co is hosting a "Bee Summit." Bayer AG is breaking ground on a "Bee Care Center." And Sygenta AG is funding grants for research into the accelerating demise of honeybees in the United States, where the insects pollinate fruits and vegetables that make up roughly a quarter of the American diet.

The agrichemical companies are taking these initiatives at a time when their best-selling pesticides are under fire from environmental and food activists who say the chemicals are killing off millions of bees. The companies say their pesticides are not the problem, but critics say science shows the opposite.

Die-offs of bee populations have accelerated over the last few years to a rate the U.S. government calls unsustainable. Honeybees pollinate plants that produce roughly 25 percent of the foods Americans consume, including apples, almonds, watermelons and beans, according to government reports.

Scientists, consumer groups, beekeepers and others blame the devastating rate of bee deaths on the growing use of pesticides sold by agrichemical companies to boost yields of staple crops such as corn. Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer and other agrichemical companies say other factors such as mites are killing the bees.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-usa-beesbre94j0mk-20130520,0,2092522.story

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Please help spread the word about the March Against Monsanto May 25
http://march-against-monsanto.com

[SoapBox]

1. Monsanto?

THEY are hosting the "summit"?

Oh PULEAZE! Why...to protect their own, bee killing, toxic waste, people kill'n chemicals?

Fox and Hen House?

[truedelphi]

3. Fox in the Hen House? Exactly! n/t

[LeighAnn]

5. Yeah they bought the leading Bee research firm

Now they're working on their own "brand" of genetically modified bees to pollinate Monsanto crops

http://www.naturalnews.com/035688_Monsanto_honey_bees_colony_collapse.html

[NBachers]

15. I was going to post a snarky comment urging Monsanto to develop a bee with it's own pesticide DNA

and they're actually . . . fucking . . . doing it.

The world of the unthinkable and ridiculous has become the norm.

[cyberswede]

27. well...

naturalnews.com is a kooky conspiracy site, so I'd take that into consideration.

[JDPriestly]

2. Maybe bees need and like weeds.

Maybe bees need the microbes in bees.

Just a couple of thoughts.

I let the weeds, especially the wood sorrel flourish in my garden, and I have lots of bees. I'm not sure that they are honey bees, but I've got lots of them, and I expect more will show up when my squash gets in full bloom and lots of it blooms.

[Squinch]

4. This is the devastating disaster that no one is seeing coming at them.

[KamaAina]

6. There's no contradiction there

Scientists, consumer groups, beekeepers and others blame the devastating rate of bee deaths on the growing use of pesticides sold by agrichemical companies to boost yields of staple crops such as corn. Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer and other agrichemical companies say other factors such as mites are killing the bees.

The poison Monsatan and others are selling could be weakening the bees' ability to fight off the mite infestation. Ever think of that, Monsatan?

[Blue State Bandit]

7. Misleading title.

Should be...

Breaking: U.S. pesticide makers to spent millions faining ignorance to cause of bee depopulation.

:snark:

[freshwest]

9. Yep. A lot of things aren't pest. It's just profitable to call them that and kill them for bucks.

There are alternatives to pesticides that don't hurt bees, and in fact help them. Mainly, ending monocultural plantings and using other plants to even out field ecology. It's as if these guys want to grow astroturf. Bad idea.

[secondvariety]

8. Mites.

It just couldn't be the millions of pounds of pesticides.

[nineteen50]

10. I

have no respect belief or trust left for these sociopaths.

[cosmicone]

11. That is like Michelle Bachmann hosting a sanity summit. n/t

[cliffordu]

12. Mites???

Some kind of major bullshit there.

Monsanto needs to burn.

[Buzz Clik]

28. Mites killed a lot of bees some time back. Most bees are now treated for mites.

[maindawg]

13. wow

Here is an idea, monsanto, stop killing the bees, and they will stop dying.

[YOHABLO]

14. Who am I to stop Monsanto? I have no power .. they will destroy me and every other living thing.

Our do-nothing congress, who are bought and paid for by Monsanto, will look the other way. As usual. You can march all you want .. but we need leadership, which we don't have. Money trumps everything in this country. Sorry so gloom and doom, but it's the truth.

[SunSeeker]

16. By killing bees, Monsanto is killing us too...eventually. nt

[DeSwiss]

17. Look in the mirror. :-/ n/t

[jwirr]

18. Monsanto must be crazy. They need the bee as much as we do. If the crops are not polinated then we

do not buy any of their products because we have nothing to use them on. It is the death of us but they should begin to realize that it is also their death.

[NoGOPZone]

19. The first place to look would be a mirror. nt

[hedgehog]

20. My flowering trees and shrubs are normally swarmng with bees -

this year only one or two! It's not just the honey bees, either - the bumble bees and other wild bees are missing too!

[lovuian]

22. I haven't seen my bees either yet. Extinction is a real possibility

Monsanto and US will be known as the company who brought the honeybee to extinction

the Bee situation should have been addressed by the US government 7 years ago but it was protective of Monsanto

It now has gotten to be a dire situation and EU has banned the pesticide for two years

The US has no other choice support the bee or your agricultural industry will be destroyed

[hedgehog]

24. What i realized last night is it's not just the honey bees -

all the bees are missing!

[KurtNYC]

23. I am working on an organic farm this year

and we have lots of bees -- bumble, honey, etc. We are surrounded by non-producing farms and horse farms so not much spraying in the area. Wish I could send you some.

[bemildred]

21. U.S. pesticide makers seek liability protection. nt

[Sunlei]

25. They should look to places that overused pesticides like China too.

I read China has had to hand pollinate their fruit crops, (like pears) for 40 years. They have killed off with pesticides all the natural pollinators.

Thanks a lot Chemical Corps!!

You corps should be paying for the entire American health care system from your massive profits!!

[Berlum]

26. Well, they could always shitcan their poison and try organics

[Buzz Clik]

29. Curious that Monsanto is involved. They do not manufacture a pesticide implicated in bee deaths.

(Please don't toss out the completely unsupportable theory that GMOs are killing bees)