Where Have all the Honey Bees Gone?

[Guest guest]

Where Have all the Honey Bees Gone?

 

by Robert Cohen

 

(The amazing story of dairy industry culpability)

 

" If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe,

then man would only have four years left to live. "

- Albert Einstein

 

This from the Penn State Agriculture Magazine, Spring 1998:

 

" In the spring of 1993, entomologist Maryann Frazier

encountered a mystery. 'Beekeepers began calling to

report that they had no bees in their colonies,' she

recalls...They had seen bees making flights in February,

but by April, there were no bees. What happened to them?'

 

Frazier's investigation into the reasons the bees

disappeared continues today. If she and her colleagues can't

unravel the mystery of why bee colonies are dying, beekeepers,

fruit and vegetable growers, and consumers all are likely to

feel the consequences. "

 

I live in New Jersey, America's Garden State. Believe it

or not, we have a state insect, the honey bee. Honey bees

pollinate crops. It's actually a big business. Pollinators

travel America, leasing their bees to crop growers. Beekeepers

keep the honey. During World War II, there were over 6 million

commercial beehives in America. By the mid-1980s, that number

had dropped to 4 million. Today, there are 2.5 million remaining.

America's honey bees are disappearing, and those who best know

bees have a number of theories, but no one conclusive reason.

The one universally accepted fact is that bees are in trouble.

 

Could an aspirin manufacturer be the cause of the bee's demise?

The Bayer Aspirin Company may be giving our environment an

incurable migraine headache.

 

My first hint came from an ad in the April 10, 2006

issue of Hoard's Dairyman. There, on page 270, a full

color advertisement proclaims:

 

" Bayer supplies the technology to fix the milking

machine on the right. "

 

On the right side of the ad is an enlarged photo of

a most grotesque fly with large red eyes and appendages

containing end-to-end cactus-like spurs.

 

In smaller text, Bayer informs prospective customers:

 

" Bayer understands how much profit flies suck out of

your entire operation. That's why we developed QuickBayt

Pour-On insecticide...put the high-tech tools from Bayer

to work. " (Bayer is owned by the IG Farben Company, and

no, I will not be getting into that controversy here...)

 

I began to search the Internet for the secret ingredients to

Bayer's miracle fly solution. Gobs and gobs of this high-tech

gunk are slathered onto dairy cow's bodies. What's in QuickBayt

that makes life so very dangerous for the honey bee?

 

Imidacloprid.

 

Imidacloprid is a widely used insecticide that has environmentalists

extremely concerned. Apparently, scientists have known for many

years the impact that imidacloprid has on wildlife. Here are some

of the recognized hazards of using imidacloprid:

 

Imidacloprid has raised concerns because of its possible impact on

bee

populations...it is also acutely toxic to earthworms...

 

Imidacloprid has raised concerns because it causes eggshell thinning

in endangered bird species...it is highly toxic to sparrows, quails,

canaries, and pigeons...

 

Imidacloprid can be toxic to humans, causing epileptic seizures,

diarrhea, and lack of coordination...

 

Imidacloprid is extremely toxic at low concentrations to some

species of aquatic fish and crustaceans...

 

Can food be contaminated with imidacloprid? You tell me whether

this is comedy or tragedy at work. Neither the United States

Department of Agriculture nor the Food and Drug Administration

includes imidacloprid in their food monitoring programs.

 

Two European studies have shown that vegetables tested with

imidacloprid were contaminated, one week after exposure.

 

It seems clear that imidacloprid use on dairy farms should be

closely monitored by regulatory agencies. The Bayer Company

is making lots of money on this drug, but the true cost might

become America's newest headache. My advice to FDA and USDA

regulators who refuse to regulate: Take two imidacloprids

and call me in the morning.

..

" Even bees, the little almsmen of spring bowers,

know there is richest juice in poison-flowers. "

- John Keats

 

Robert Cohen

http://www.notmilk.com