 |
|
|
|||||
Are Genetically Modified Crops Killing Honeybees? |
|
||||||||||||
| From an email from Dove of Oneness |
|||||||||||||
[doveofo] NESARA ENDS Genetically
Modified Orgs.; Australia: FIGHT GM Hello Dear Friends and White Knights, A few hours ago I spoke with a gentleman who has cured over 10,000 people of health problems using NATURAL therapies. He informed me new studies state that 70% - SEVENTY PERCENT of the Honey Bees on the USA East Coast and 50% - FIFTY PERCENT of the Honey Bees on the USA West Coast - HAVE DIED due to gathering pollen from GENETICALLY MODIFIED/ENGINEERED (GM/GE) CROPS! “Highly respected scientists believe that exposure to genetically engineered crops and their plant-produced pesticides merit serious consideration as either the cause or a contributory factor….” “…genetically modified, insect-resistant plants are now used in 40 percent of cornfields in the United States….” “BEES POLLINATE AN ESTIMATED 60 PERCENT OF OUR CROPS AS WELL AS WILD PLANTS.” http://www.moraybeekeepers.co.uk/gmbees.htm an ALBERT EINSTEIN QUOTE: "IF THE BEE DISAPPEARED OFF THE SURFACE
OF THE GLOBE THEN MAN WOULD ONLY HAVE FOUR YEARS OF LIFE LEFT. NO MORE Posted 25 March 07 ARE GM CROPS KILLING OUR BEES ? Two pieces of text below, the first from America's most prestigious and effective advocate for the environment ... the Sierra Club and the second from "Der Spiegel" is Europe's biggest and Germany's most influential news magazine with a circulation of around one million. The first letter below from the Sierra Club makes a case that was more or less ignored in the US NRC 2006 report on honey bee decline. The problem is not only honey bee death but the tunnel vision of a US government-academic cabal who wish to ignore agricultural pesticides and most strikingly GM crops. Like the problem of global warming US science funding is tied more to political ideology than to full and truthful inquiry. The tragedy is that the honey bees will suffer the consequences. Genetic Engineering GE and bee Colony Collapse Disorder -- science needed! Download the CRS report for Congress 26 Mar 07 ... "Recent Honey
Bee Colony Declines" (in pdf format ...188Kb) Dear Senator Thomas Harkin, We share similar concerns. The viability of a robust food supply is paramount to the American people. One out of every three bites of food that we consume is due to the work of honeybees, serving as crucial pollinators in agriculture and farming communities. Yet agriculture and food production may be severely impacted by Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a trend documented in honey bee colonies and prominently featured in a New York Times story (1). Beekeepers are reporting estimates as high as 80% loss of their honey bee colonies. Such a huge loss of the services of bees is extremely serious and beekeepers report it's a growing trend. The cause of CCD is unknown. Although factors being considered include pesticides, mites, microbial disease and habitat decline, there's a possible link that's not being investigated. Highly respected scientists believe that exposure to genetically engineered crops and their plant-produced pesticides merit serious consideration as either the cause or a contributory factor to the development and spread of CCD.(2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10) In searching for the cause of massive honey bee losses nationwide, we must leave no stone unturned to find the answer. This past decade we are seeing releases into the environment that we
have never before seen on this planet. Genetic engineering involves
the artificial transfer of genes from one organism into another, bypassing
the protective barrier between species. Scientists admit
that "unintended consequences" may occur due to the lack of
precision and specificity in the DNA sites on different plant chromosomes
where
the inserted genes randomly end up. According to the prominent biologist
Dr. Barry Commoner and pioneer in ecology, "Genetically
engineered crops represent a huge uncontrolled experiment whose outcome
is inherently unpredictable. The results could be Investigators have raised the possibility that honey bees are experiencing a sublethal effect such as a "suppressed immune system" from an unknown toxin. However, sublethal effects have not been fully investigated. Dennis van Engelsdorp, a bee specialist with the state of Pennsylvania who is part of the team studying the bee colony collapses, said the "strong immune suppression" investigators have observed "could be the AIDS of the bee industry," making bees more susceptible to other diseases that eventually kill them off. (1) Nonetheless, a concern is that genetically engineered crops are being ignored as a possible culprit, especially with tens of millions of acres now being planted each year of cultivars producing large concentrations of pesticides that did not exist on such a scale just a decade ago. Currently regulators fail to require adequate analysis of transgene insertion sites. This omission results from the failure to appreciate the magnitude of genetic damage sustained by transgenic plants.(11,12) Regulators have also failed to adequately assess the potential for lethal and sublethal impacts of engineered crop pesticides on pollinators like honey bees and wild bees, including the larvae brood and young bees. Studies are needed to evaluate the impact of GE crops on sublethal effects such as learning and feeding behaviour. In addition, honey bee colonies are being fed GE corn syrups and parts of recycled hives containing additional GE food residues. The effect of these feeding practices on bees needs study. Considering that loss of honeybee pollinators can leave a huge void in the kitchens of the American people and an estimated loss of 14 billion dollars to farmers, it would be prudent to use caution. If genetically engineered crops are killing honeybees, a moratorium on their planting should be considered. Senator Harkin, as Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, you are in a key position to initiate investigations to determine if exposure to genetically engineered crops is the missing link. Emergency funding for research on the pollinator decline needs to be available to researchers and the USDA. Most sincerely, 3. Obrycki,J, Losey, J, Taylor,O, Jesee,L. "Transgenic insecticidal corn: Beyond insecticidal toxicity to ecological complexity." Bioscience May 2001/Vol 51 No. 5 4. Pham-Delègue, M.H., et. al. 2002. "Direct and Indirect Effects of Genetically Modified Plants on the Honey Bee," Honey Bees: Estimating the Environmental Impact of Chemicals, pp. 312-326. 5. Picard-Nioi, A.L,.et al. Pham-Delegue, M.H. "Impact of proteins used in plant genetic engineering: Toxicity and behavioral study in the honeybee." J. Econ. Entomol.997,90,1710-1716. 6. Ricarda A. Steinbrecher, "Risks associated with ingestion of
Chardon LL maize, The reversal of N-acetyl-L- glufosinate to the
active herbicide L-glufosinate in the gut of animals," Chardon LL 7. Mohr KI and Tebbe CC. "Field study results on the probability and risk of a horizontal gene transfer from transgenic herbicide-resistant oilseed rape pollen to gut bacteria of bees." Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2007 in press,DOI 10.1007/s00253, 007-0846-7. 8. Ramirez-Romero,R,Chaufaux,J and Pham-Delègue,M. "Effects of Cry1Ab protoxin, deltamethrin and imidacloprid on the foraging activity and the learning performances of the honeybee Apis mellifera, a comparative approach" Apidologie 36 (2005) 601-11. 9. Hilbeck,A and Schmid,J. "Another view of Bt proteins-How specific are they and what else might they do" Biopestic. Int. 2006,2,1-50. 10. Morandin,L and Winston,M. "Wild bee abundance and seed production in conventional, organic and genetically modified canola" Ecological Applications 2004,15,871-81. 11. Commoner, B. "Unraveling the DNA Myth: The spurious foundation of genetic engineering." Harper's Magazine, February 2002, 39-47. 12. Schubert, D. "Regulatory regimes for transgenic crops." Nature
Biotechnology 23,785 - 787 (2005). EXTRACT: The researchers examined the effects of pollen from a genetically
modified maize variant called "Bt corn" on bees...
According to Hans-Hinrich Kaatz, a professor at the University of Halle
in Eastern Germany and the director of the study, THE BACTERIAL
TOXIN IN THE GENETICALLY MODIFIED CORN MAY HAVE "ALTERED THE SURFACE
OF THE BEE'S INTESTINES, SUFFICIENTLY WEAKENING THE BEES TO ALLOW THE
PARASITES TO GAIN ENTRY -- or perhaps it was the other way around. We
don't know." By Gunther Latsch Is the mysterious decimation of bee populations in the US and Germany
a result of GM crops? Walter Haefeker is a man who is used to painting
grim scenarios. He sits on the board of directors of the German Beekeepers
Association (DBIB) and is vice president of the European The problem, says Haefeker, has a number of causes, one being the varroa mite, introduced from Asia, and another is the widespread practice in agriculture of spraying wildflowers with herbicides and practicing monoculture. Another possible cause, according to Haefeker, is the controversial and growing use of genetic engineering in agriculture. As far back as 2005, Haefeker ended an article he contributed to the journal Der Kritischer Agrarbericht (Critical Agricultural Report) with an Albert Einstein quote: "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man." Mysterious events in recent months have suddenly made Einstein's apocalyptic vision seem all the more topical. For unknown reasons, bee populations throughout Germany are disappearing -- something that is so far only harming beekeepers. But the situation is different in the United States, where bees are dying in such dramatic numbers that the economic consequences could soon be dire. No one knows what is causing the bees to perish, but some experts believe that the large-scale use of genetically modified plants in the US could be a factor. FROM THE MAGAZINE The scientists are also surprised that bees and other insects usually leave the abandoned hives untouched. Nearby bee populations or parasites would normally raid the honey and pollen stores of colonies that have died for other reasons, such as excessive winter cold. "This suggests that there is something toxic in the colony itself which is repelling them," says Cox-Foster. Walter Haefeker, the German beekeeping official, speculates that "besides a number of other factors," the fact that genetically modified, insect-resistant plants are now used in 40 percent of cornfields in the United States could be playing a role. The figure is much lower in Germany -- only 0.06 percent -- and most of that occurs in the eastern states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg. Haefeker recently sent a researcher at the CCD Working Group some data from a bee study that he has long felt shows a possible connection between genetic engineering and diseases in bees. The study in question is a small research project conducted at the University of Jena from 2001 to 2004. The researchers examined the effects of pollen from a genetically modified maize variant called "Bt corn" on bees. A gene from a soil bacterium had been inserted into the corn that enabled the plant to produce an agent that is toxic to insect pests. The study concluded that there was no evidence of a"toxic effect of Bt corn on healthy honeybee populations." But when, by sheer chance, the bees used in the experiments were infested with a parasite, something eerie happened. According to the Jena study, a "significantly stronger decline in the number of bees" occurred among the insects that had been fed a highly concentrated Bt poison feed. According to Hans-Hinrich Kaatz, a professor at the University of Halle in eastern Germany and the director of the study, the bacterial toxin in the genetically modified corn may have "altered the surface of the bee's intestines, sufficiently weakening the bees to allow the parasites to gain entry -- or perhaps it was the other way around. We don't know." Of course, the concentration of the toxin was ten times higher in the experiments than in normal Bt corn pollen. In addition, the bee feed was administered over a relatively lengthy six-week period. Kaatz would have preferred to continue studying the phenomenon but lacked the necessary funding. "Those who have the money are not interested in this sort of research," says the professor, "and those who are interested don't have the money." http://www.santostrading.com.au/articles/bees.html GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS THREATEN BEES. The world's food supply could be under serious threat. Antibiotic resistant
genes from genetically modified crops are suspected of
decimating the North American bee population. The ABC 7-30 report “ Bee keepers appeal for industry help”, aired on 18 April, documented the export of Australian bees to the US.“Australia is presently one of the few places in the world where honey bees are mainly disease free,” it reported. The effects of gene manipulation on bees could be serious. America needs
to import bees because of pests and diseases such as Verroa
mite, and American foulbrood (a serious bacterial disease). Wild bees
and bumblebees are in decline in the USA, Europe and UK and their
decline is linked to modern intensive farming and the widespread use
of herbicides and the use of GM crops. There is increasing concern that genes giving resistance to antibiotics can be passed from the Genetically modified plants through bees into bacteria and viruses. It has been found that DNA from pollen can survive for up to seven weeks in honey and could be transferred to humans and other animals. In a submission by Joe Rowland to the N.Y. Assembly task force on food, farm, and nutrition policy in October 3, 2000, he quoted research from Jena University in Germany . “Researchers there have shown that a gene used in GM canola is transferred to bacteria in the guts of bees in the first publicly documented case of horizontal gene transfer from GM crops to bacteria within any animal. This discovery may have major implications for the future of GM crops.” One objection to GM crops is that during genetic manipulations, antibiotic resistant "marker" genes are inserted into the target plant as “markers”. Within the plant, the antibiotic resistant gene has no expression and is harmless. However, if this gene were able to transfer out of the GM plant and re-enter a bacterium, this bacterium would become antibiotic resistant. This might render commonly used antibiotics useless against diseases attacking humans and livestock, including honeybees. Joe Rowland continues; DURING THE 1990'S, MILLIONS OF ACRES OF ROUND-UP READY CROPS WERE PLANTED IN THE U.S. AND ARGENTINA. ACCORDING TO MY INFORMATION, THE ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT GENE USED IN THE CREATION OF ROUND-UP READY CROPS WAS RESISTANT TO TETRACYCLINE. After 40 years of effective usage
against an infective bacterium found in the guts of honeybees, suddenly
2 geographically isolated countries develop tetracycline
resistance simultaneously. A common thread between the U.S. and Argentina
is the widespread and recent cultivation of GM crops
containing tetracycline resistant genes. “ Insufficient Safeguards In the UK, farmers planting GM crops do not have to consult with neighbouring
beekeepers. This means these bees could easily make honey
contaminated with GM pollen. Under present UK laws the beekeepers are
responsible for testing their honey for GM contamination. This is an Friends of the Earth again. “Honey bees commonly forage up to 2km from the hive, but oilseed rape fields are such an attractive source of nectar that bees may travel at least five km to get to them.” http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/bees_honey_gm_crops.html The friends of the earth (foe) goes on to describe a study where bee
hives were placed at various distances from GM oilseed rape crops. GM
pollen was found in all hives up to 4.5km away! This study shows that
honey and bee pollen can be contaminated with GM pollen up to 4,5km The Pandora's Box of gene manipulation is well and truly open. INVERTED RESPONSIBILITY An alarming aspect of the current application of patent law to patents
on genes in food crops is that it holds the recipient of rogue genes
responsible for theft. In test cases in Canada and Minnesota, courts
have routinely found against crop growers whose fields have been This is like someone driving past your house and spraying it with their proprietary black paint thus vandalising your house and then suing you for having their patented product on your house without a licence. Not only have they have polluted your house with impunity; you are regarded as having committed a crime, and have to pay damages to them as well as paying to repair your house. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BLIND AND STUPID? Instead of seeing this as an opportunity to avoid the mistakes of the
northern hemisphere, the Australian Federal Government is taking a two
pronged approach to the destruction of Australian agriculture, insisting
on the adoption of genetically modified organisms and
dismantling Australian apiary infrastructure at the same time. On the
28th of April 2006, Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Christopher
Pyne, was reported as saying “States should Drop GM Bans … state
policies are putting Australian farmers at a disadvantage.” He
refers
to the fact that most Australian states and the ACT have bans on commercial
GM crops. The ABC also reported Australian apiarists (bee keepers) as “appealing for urgent action to stop a serious decline in Australia's bee-keeping industry. The research needs to address parasites, disease and lack of new people entering the industry.” The call is in response to the closure by the federal government of Australia's only two bee training courses. BEES POLLINATE AN ESTIMATED 60 PERCENT OF OUR CROPS AS WELL AS WILD Next time you see a bee, thank it for its selfless service to humanity! More links on this issue |
|||||||||||||
| |
|||||||||||||
©
2004 Moveon New Zealand Limited.
|
|||||||||||||