next message in archive
next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects
Index of Subjects Hi Steve and all This article does not give amounts of contaminants but brings up how the beeswax factor can lead to the bioaccumulation of some pesticide residues: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/compound-eye/2011/08/11/organic-honey-is-a-sweet-illusion/ Hope it does not turn you off honey. Nancy On Thu, Aug 15, 2013 at 2:07 PM, Stephen R. Shaw <srshaw@dal.ca> wrote: > Thanks, Lance, for the as-usual helpful link. > > Reading the paper Lance provided puts the kybosh on any attempt to assert a > 1-to-1 relationship such as "pesticides were actually directly responsible > for 'causing colony collapse disorder'", more or less the original claim. > Several factors have been identified that interact in ways that are not well > understood yet. Ominously, these may not act in a simple additive manner and > such non-linear interaction is not tested in approving the pesticides, as > the paper indicates. > > At the same time, the authors identified multiple insecticides, fungicides > and acaricides (used by the beekeepers themselves to control mites) in the > pollen collected by bees. You'd have to be sceptic of tobacco executive > magnitude not to be alarmed that the bees collected pollen containing at > least 35 different pesticides in the study, some at very high levels. The > implication that some of these are important in the interactions underlying > CCD is not well understood yet, but is highly suggestive. > > Now I'm wondering what's in the honey that I've been eating. Does anybody > monitor pesticide levels in honey, or honey from different locations? The > pesticide-loaded pollen came from plants that the bees also visited for > nectar, so that is presumably loaded with the same pesticides, which in turn > should end up in the honey. Are there any beekeepers or others on this list > who might know about the levels of such chemicals in honey? Is some local > NS honey better, by virtue of a lower pesticide load? > > Steve (Halifax) > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Quoting "Laviolette, Lance (EXP)" <lance.laviolette@lmco.com>: > >> Hi David and others, >> >> The recent research that Mary was referring to was conducted by University >> of Maryland researchers. It was just published in PLOS ONE and can be read >> in full at the following link: >> >> http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0070182 >> >> A quote attributed to the study's senior author is telling: >> "We don't think of fungicides as having a negative effect on bees, because >> they're not designed to kill insects," vanEngelsdorp stated. Current federal >> regulations limit the use of insecticides during the time periods when >> pollinating insects are foraging, "but there are no such restrictions on >> fungicides, so you'll often see fungicide applications going on while bees >> are foraging on the crop. This finding suggests that we have to reconsider >> that policy." >> >> >> All the best, >> >> Lance > > >
next message in archive
next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects