Stinging Attack On Bee Study

Abstract

The agrochemical companies Syngenta and Bayer are attacking a study by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that investigated the cause of bee population decline in Europe. The study finds that the neonicotinoid insecticides clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam, which target the nervous systems of insects, are implicated in bee population decline in Europe—or at least can’t be ruled out as a cause. “This report is unworthy of EFSA and of its scientists,” said John Atkin, chief operating officer of Syngenta, the world’s largest agricultural chemicals firm. “It is obvious to us that EFSA has found itself under political pressure to produce a hurried and inadequate risk assessment. Their report, compiled in under three months, has not taken account of the comprehensive scientific studies that preceded the launch of neonicotinoids and many years of extensive monitoring in the field.” Herman Fontier, head of the authority’s pesticides unit, countered on BBC radio ...