Bayer kills bees
Bayer Pesticides Kill Bees
By Yvette Cabrera and Katie Brimm
“Bayer is killing bees, bring them to their knees!” buzzed our group
of around 90 protesters dressed as bees and beekeepers as we marched
from San Pablo Park to the East Bay headquarters of the international
corporation, Bayer, to honor them with the satirical Poison Heart Award,
for their outstanding role in global bee population decline. East Bay’s
Taking Back Our Food System
organized the march and demonstration. And while many marchers are not
directly involved with the Occupy movement, they are united over the
common belief that our bees must be saved as many fruits and vegetables
depend on bees for pollination.
Bee populations have been steadily declining for the past couple of
decades and many scientists have attributed it to the increased use of
pesticides in industrial agriculture. This trend is worrying because it
not only endangers the livelihoods of thousands of beekeepers and small
farmers, but puts the future of our global food system at risk. Honey
bees pollinate 71 of the 100 most common crops, accounting for 90% of
the world’s food supply. Managed honey bees are the most economically
important pollinator. In fact more than one in every three bites of food
we eat depends on honey bees for pollination . Some scientists have
even narrowed Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), described as “the
mysterious and massive die-off of bees across North America and Europe,”
to the use of a specific pesticide that is manufactured by Bayer’s
clothianidin and imidacloprid, first-generation neonicotinoids .
Bayer is not just the innocent aspiring manufacturer making aspirin.;
They are one of the largest manufacturers of pesticides in the U.S. and
around the world, along with other infamous companies such as Monsanto
and Dow.
So how do neonicotinoids kill bees? Scientists have disclosed that
neonicotinoids disrupt insects’ central nervous systems,” and “spread
through the vascular tissues of plants.” This is most disturbing because
once the pesticides spread they are “toxic through entire growing
seasons, including flowering times when bees consume their pollen.”
As pesticides infiltrate the bees’ central nervous system, their
learning and navigational abilities are disrupted. This also makes them
susceptible to certain parasites. Essentially, the pesticides fog up
the bees’ brain and make it difficult for them to find their way back to
the hive. Even If they are successful in making it back to the hive
though, it is most likely that the pollen that the bee has extracted and
brought back is infected with neonicotinoids, meaning the rest of the
colony will be affected resulting in complete collapse of that bee
colony.
Today pesticides are a prevalent part of the food and agricultural
system, especially in the US. According to Pesticide Action Network
(PANNA), 1,200 different pesticide active ingredients are approved and
in use in 18,000 different product combinations. By contrast, France and
Britain have registered around 500 and 300, respectively. Mixtures of
these chemical cocktails not only infiltrate the bees’ nervous system,
but are stored in their wax and pollen, in the soil, and in water
droplets exuded by trees, and even in nearby untreated land. This
phenomenon creates a dangerous world of chemical exposure not only for
the bees, but for humans, frogs, bats, and a wealth of other plants and
animals that contribute to the health and biodiversity of our natural
environment.
While Bayer scientists have continuously reported that there is no
evidence that links neonicotinoids to the depletion of the bee
population, there have been independent scientific studies conducted
around the world that prove otherwise. On Wednesday, May 16 the Taking Back Our Food System
protesters sent a message to BAYER to stop manufacturing these
pesticides because without bees, there are no farms, which means there
is no food. So, while the protesters may have looked a little crazy
buzzing through the streets of Berkeley, they did it and will continue
doing it because bees are crucial to the survival of the human
population, and it’s essential to protect them so that then can do their
jobs, and we can continue to eat a variety of nutritious fruits and
vegetables.
