On Friday, April 24, 2015 at 1:26:06 PM UTC-7, Hypatia Nachshon wrote:
It's not really OT, since the dire predicament of the pollinators that give us our "daily bread" is of concern to home gardeners as well as to consumers of commercially-produced food, organic or otherwise.


There are many sites on-line to learn about pesticides laced with Neonicotinoid,such as the powerful NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) to other environmental groups.

A comprehensive article is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neonicotinoid.

Science Daily has excellent article on same subject.

Are bees 'hooked' on nectar containing pesticides?
Posted: 23 Apr 2015 08:41 PM PDT
Bees are attracted to nectar containing common pesticides, scientists have discovered. This could increase their chances of exposure to high levels of pesticides.

It's "David" (us) against "Goliath", who is wired into U.S. corrupt Congress and (hah!)regulators.

What to do? Wait until magnitude of problem begins to hit the grocery shelves? Or demand action, FWIW.

HB

Excellent article in the Spring 2015 magazine of "Defenders of Wildlife" (one of the most honest groups in its field) titled "The Pollinator Predicament" about the problems of Bee, Bat and Butterfly pollinators.

http://www.defenders.org/magazine/spring-2015/pollinator-predicament

In same issue of DW magazine, an article entitled

http://www.defenders.org/magazine/sp...living-lightly

discusses the neonicotinoid group of pesticides,naming names of products.

Probably members know about these, but here's quote from article:

"Don't forget to check the ingredients of products used in the yard and garden. Avoid any that incorporate ***imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, acetamiprid or dinotefuran,**** all of which belong to the group of pesticides called neonicotinoids (see The Pollinator Predicament, page 10). To take it a step further, tell big box home improvement stores not to sell plants and seeds that are pretreated with neonics.

You can also become proactive with legislators and ask them to support banning certain pesticides, to follow ecologically friendly land use practices and to protect sensitive areas from development. Improved pesticide labeling is also key to better understand how our food is grown. By buying organic food, you can help encourage pesticide-free farming."

HB