EU Passes Ban on Bee-Killing PesticidesHeather Callaghan The initial ban crumbled it was more of a hung jury so there was still chance for a decision from the Commission. Last week, Europe decided to be the first continent to issue a ban on neonicotinoid pesticides those deriving from chemicals closely related to nicotine and attack the nervous system of pests (and bees and birds). Looks like this ban, hailed as a victory for bees will last for two years. Alternative pesticides will have to go through rigorous testing in light of the recent, dire situation. The Independent reports: Chemical companies Bayer and Syngenta lead the billion dollar neonicotinoids market a class that includes multiple chemicals implicated in massive bee decline. Its beenpersuasivelyargued that the mass die-off could set off a global food crisis thus the abrupt action. Just since October 2012, in the United States, bees have declined by almost 50 percent! Other longer-term statistics are just as frightening imagine if that rapid decline were happening to pandas, tigers, or whales or humans? It would certainly feel like an urgent situation. Syngenta Chief Operating Officer John Atkintold Greenwise Businessin early April: What a deludi-noid. There are other culprits to the bee decline, but how could eliminating one of the killers not save one single hive. See more below why this isasinineand why these companies dont actually care about their farmers. Does this pose difficulties to farmers? Yes. Unfortunately, this is a tangled knot that should have never been. It started when these chemicals entered the market for the sake of convenience and for large-scale industrial farming, and then were constantly defended by environmental agencies. Some farming practices are beginning to topple and a sudden ban doesnt leave much prep time for alternatives. I long for the world to reunite with biodiverse polycultural practices. One of our reader comments: To that all I can say is: Why wasnt this addressed decades ago? Rachel Carson sounded the warning bells in the 60s. But now the dam is about to break and flood.Pesticide makers have, for decades, negotiated their way into staying: DDT was too toxic as Rachael Carson showed us, so the answer to that was organophosphates; those were dangerous to animals and humans so the answer to that was neonicotinoids and here the cycle continues until massive animal die-off is just too big to ignore. And there are ways to feed the world, and GMO and spraying practices dont lead to larger yields, but do breed superbugand superweed resistance, and kill the co-creators of our food. Even though Bayer and Syngenta act like theyre fighting for farmers and their expenses, they use farmers as scapegoats and blame them for their products damage. So why would they want to continue trusting them? Farmers of all types are really getting the shaft.PR Watch is great for catching companies in these low maneuvers. It is estimated by researchers that even by stopping the use of bee-killing chemicals, the loss of pollinators is so great, that it will take 5-10 years to recover them and get back to the good ol days. Even so, the EU ban is a brave step toward correcting a severe environmental problem that unfortunately went neglected for far too long lets hope there is some help and direction for those farmers stuck holding the bag and bee keepers looking at their empty hives. Heather Callaghanis a natural health blogger and food freedom activist. You can see her work at NaturalBlaze.com and selfnewsPost.com. Like atFacebook. Sources: Read other articles byHeather Callaghan 