4 ms·

GM crops are being blamed by many scientists: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/collapsing-colonies-are-gm-crops-killing-bees-a-473166.html http://www.s

GM crops are being blamed by many scientists: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/collapsing-colonies-are-gm-crops-killing-bees-a-473166.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/collapsing-colonie... Monsanto is the biggest player in that field (by far, I think).

robbiep 14y ago
But GM crops aren't bee pollinated, they're wind pollinated. There is so much GM hate by people who have only read or heard soundbites. My experience with GM crops has been that they have resulted in massively reduced levels of pesticide spraying (from an agricultural background) with the side Benicia thet the farmer saves money and insects are spared
- antiterra 14y ago
  > But GM crops aren't bee pollinated, they're wind pollinated. Bees forage in corn. That means they are exposed to and possibly affected by GMO Bt-Corn pollen endotoxins and the neonics they treat the corn with.
  - rafcavallaro 14y ago
    Bees are fed High Fructose Corn Syrup from corn treated with neonicotinoid pesticides and that low exposure, over time is killing hives: http://stream.loe.org/images/120406/Lu%20final%20proof.pdf http://stream.loe.org/images/120406/Lu%20final%20proof.pdf
  - randomdata 14y ago
    Large swaths of the corn crop were wiped out last year, yet the article says that the deaths last year rose dramatically over the previous years. Wouldn't you expect a slight reduction in deaths, if anything, given the events that transpired?
- cmiles74 14y ago
  Don't forget that industrial bees are fed corn syrup during the winter. Trace amounts of the toxin (designed to kill insects) are then fed to the bees all winter long.
ak217 14y ago
Ironically, GM crops may wind up bringing bees back from the brink of destruction, in spite of people motivated by uninformed opinions like this. GM crops (in general, not limited to roundup) allow a dramatic reduction in pesticide use. While they might not improve the predicament of bees being fed pesticide-contaminated corn syrup, they will reduce the overall background levels of pesticides in many hives' environments.
- lazyjones 14y ago
  > GM crops (in general, not limited to roundup) allow a dramatic reduction in pesticide use so the propaganda goes ... In fact, the opposite happens: http://earthopensource.org/index.php/5-gm-crops-impacts-on-the-farm-and-environment/5-2-myth-gm-crops-decrease-pesticide-use http://earthopensource.org/index.php/5-gm-crops-impacts-on-t... http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/02/us-usa-study-pesticides-idUSBRE89100X20121002 http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/02/us-usa-study-pesti... The way to reduce pesticide use is organic farming.
  - ak217 14y ago
    Sorry, that's bullshit. Benbrook's study has been found to have solid points, except for his conclusion that pesticide use has increased - in fact, the data he uses show that it dropped: http://www.bigpictureagriculture.com/2012/10/an-evaluation-of-benbrooks-pesticide-use-study-super-weeds.html http://www.bigpictureagriculture.com/2012/10/an-evaluation-o.... The other link is a no-value-added regurgitation of the Benbrook study by an opinionated pseudo-environmentalist website. The organic label is meaningless, while true organic farming is resource-intensive and unsustainable as a global agricultural strategy. The most upsetting fact is that most GM opponents simply refuse to acknowledge that genetic modification not only holds great promise for agriculture, but is simply a more efficient way to manipulate crops in ways that we have been doing for tens of thousands of years. This gets us farther from the goal of GM safety and agricultural sustainability, not closer.
    - lazyjones 14y ago
      Did you even read the conclusion on that amateur blog you cite to attack a widely-acknowledged scientific study? It says: "At least for the short term, it looks as if more expensive and more hazardous chemical inputs will continue to increase in use for corn, soybeans, and cotton because of pesticide resistance which is growing at an alarming rate."

robbiep 14y ago

But GM crops aren't bee pollinated, they're wind pollinated. There is so much GM hate by people who have only read or heard soundbites. My experience with GM crops has been that they have resulted in massively reduced levels of pesticide spraying (from an agricultural background) with the side Benicia thet the farmer saves money and insects are spared

antiterra 14y ago
> But GM crops aren't bee pollinated, they're wind pollinated. Bees forage in corn. That means they are exposed to and possibly affected by GMO Bt-Corn pollen endotoxins and the neonics they treat the corn with.
- rafcavallaro 14y ago
  Bees are fed High Fructose Corn Syrup from corn treated with neonicotinoid pesticides and that low exposure, over time is killing hives: http://stream.loe.org/images/120406/Lu%20final%20proof.pdf http://stream.loe.org/images/120406/Lu%20final%20proof.pdf
- randomdata 14y ago
  Large swaths of the corn crop were wiped out last year, yet the article says that the deaths last year rose dramatically over the previous years. Wouldn't you expect a slight reduction in deaths, if anything, given the events that transpired?
cmiles74 14y ago
Don't forget that industrial bees are fed corn syrup during the winter. Trace amounts of the toxin (designed to kill insects) are then fed to the bees all winter long.

ak217 14y ago

Ironically, GM crops may wind up bringing bees back from the brink of destruction, in spite of people motivated by uninformed opinions like this. GM crops (in general, not limited to roundup) allow a dramatic reduction in pesticide use. While they might not improve the predicament of bees being fed pesticide-contaminated corn syrup, they will reduce the overall background levels of pesticides in many hives' environments.

lazyjones 14y ago
> GM crops (in general, not limited to roundup) allow a dramatic reduction in pesticide use so the propaganda goes ... In fact, the opposite happens: http://earthopensource.org/index.php/5-gm-crops-impacts-on-the-farm-and-environment/5-2-myth-gm-crops-decrease-pesticide-use http://earthopensource.org/index.php/5-gm-crops-impacts-on-t... http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/02/us-usa-study-pesticides-idUSBRE89100X20121002 http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/02/us-usa-study-pesti... The way to reduce pesticide use is organic farming.
- ak217 14y ago
  Sorry, that's bullshit. Benbrook's study has been found to have solid points, except for his conclusion that pesticide use has increased - in fact, the data he uses show that it dropped: http://www.bigpictureagriculture.com/2012/10/an-evaluation-of-benbrooks-pesticide-use-study-super-weeds.html http://www.bigpictureagriculture.com/2012/10/an-evaluation-o.... The other link is a no-value-added regurgitation of the Benbrook study by an opinionated pseudo-environmentalist website. The organic label is meaningless, while true organic farming is resource-intensive and unsustainable as a global agricultural strategy. The most upsetting fact is that most GM opponents simply refuse to acknowledge that genetic modification not only holds great promise for agriculture, but is simply a more efficient way to manipulate crops in ways that we have been doing for tens of thousands of years. This gets us farther from the goal of GM safety and agricultural sustainability, not closer.
  - lazyjones 14y ago
    Did you even read the conclusion on that amateur blog you cite to attack a widely-acknowledged scientific study? It says: "At least for the short term, it looks as if more expensive and more hazardous chemical inputs will continue to increase in use for corn, soybeans, and cotton because of pesticide resistance which is growing at an alarming rate."