Think Twice Before Using Neonic Pesticides

As you may have noticed, the Friends of Evanston Farmers Markets’ logo is a bee. Bees are the champion pollinators of the planet – in the pollination Olympics, they win the gold every time.

You are probably aware that an outbreak of so-called “Colony Collapse Disorder” has been rapidly killing off as much as 30% of the global population of honey bees each year. Unfortunately, in the pursuit of pest-free crops, the chemical companies have developed genetically engineered plants which contain pesticides that may kill bees as well. This is one theory, at least.

You can spend many hours on the web reviewing arguments about the cause of this crisis. The USDA Agricutural Research Service reviews CCD here. Yale University has an exhaustive review published here. The American Enterprise Institute cautions against haste and reviews science on both sides of the debate here.

Some of these pesticides are also sold for home garden use — they are neonicotinoid pesticides. And one fact that all parties agree on is that the indiscriminate use of pesticides is not a good practice at any scale. If you have a garden, and especially if you grow some of your own fruits and vegetables, please consider not using neonicotinoid pesticides.

Brand names for these pesticides include: Actara, Platinum, Helix, Cruiser, Adage, Meridian, Centric, Flagship, Poncho, Titan, Clutch, Belay, Arena, Confidor, Merit, Admire, Ledgend, Pravado, Encore, Goucho, Premise, Assail, Intruder, Adjust and Calypso.

Many countries are banning these products because they realize that a healthy bee population is more important than eliminating every pest. It’s estimated that 1/3 of our food would disappear without bees — that’s a huge loss.

More Than Honey, directed by Markus Imhoof, is a 2012 Swiss documentary film about honeybee colonies in California, Switzerland, China and Australia. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards. It’s not just a profound documentary, it is also a remarkably beautiful and engaging film that we happily recommend, regardless of your opinions on the CCD crisis.

You can see the trailer for More Than Honey on YouTube by clicking here. And the film’s website has lots more information, including how to purchase the film. Click here to explore the site.