Widely used pesticide in US particularly harmful to bees, study finds

Widely used pesticide in US particularly harmful to bees, study finds

Written by Lauren Aratani in New York

Agriculture has become 48 times more toxic to insects in last 25 years as neonics are used on over 140 different types of crops

Agriculture in the United States has become 48 times more toxic to insects over the last 25 years, largely due to a controversial, widely used class of pesticides that are particularly harmful to bees, according to a study published on Tuesday.

Neonicotinoid pesticides, also known as neonics, are used on more than 140 different types of crops, from apples to rice. Neonics are most persistent in corn and soybeans as the pesticide is used to coat the seeds of these crops.

This article was amended on 6 August 2019 to clarify how neonics are systemic and that the EU banned the most dangerous neonics, while the EPA banned 12 types of neonic products, not neonics themselves.

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[farmerm]

There is good journalism and then there is scaremongering, biased reporting and an anti-farming agenda. There is no attempt to explain to your readers why neonics are used, what alternatives are available and the potential consequences of removing them. "Support the Guardian" the bloody cheek, if this bigoted, small picture journalism is the best the Guardian can deliver then the Guardian deserves to fail.

 

[Farmer Roy]

it isn't the journalists responsibility to explain why neonics are "needed" ( especially as we obviously survived prior to their introduction ). It is the journalists aim to bring awareness to the dangers of their use

some might "need" neonics, but we all need insects & diversity in our environment for our continued existence
rather than shooting the messenger, I would suggest that we need to re examine our crop production & agricultural systems & see why we "need" to use such harmful products . . .