In his March 13 Legislative Update, South St. Paul state representative and pollinator champion Rick Hansen shared this information:
HF 1293 also received a hearing yesterday. This bill requires including caution statements on corn and soybean seeds that have been treated with neonicotinoid pesticides. The label would urge care when handling and planting the seeds and state that planting it could negatively impact pollinators. The intent of this bill is to protect the health of Minnesotans and pollinators.
That's very matter-of-fact, as per Hansen's style.
Here's the video, which starts with some housekeeping about the bill, then moves to his presentation of the intention of the bill, and testimony for the bill from pollinator champions.
Then some testy remarks from a couple of Hansen's colleagues are thrown in.
Crookston area Republican Deb Kiel tries to pretend that it's news that pesticides aren't the only factors affect pollinators decline--and Hansen explains how the legislature has been able to address the other three factors, but pesticides remain untouchable.
It's peculiar that Kiel would imagine pollinator champion Hansen wouldn't know about the four factors affecting bee decline, given that he's been talking this stuff for years. Witness the West Central Tribune article from 2014, Making Minnesota nice for pollinators. Tom Cherveny reports:
Parasites, pesticides, poor habitat and poor nutrition are all contributing to the plight facing pollinators across the state today, Hansen said.
Read her reaction to former Governor Mark Dayton's 2016 executive order regarding pollinators and neonics here. For background on the executive order and the report check out Governor Mark Dayton issues executive order to reverse bee decline, restore MN pollinator health and the recommendations the committee it established in Informational, rather than directional: Pollinator protection committee recommendations.
Next up, Paul Anderson, R-Starbuck, says "Farmers aren't stupid," although no one testifying said that, Hansen reminds him.
Just watch.
The video will quickly scroll to the presentation of the bill:
Screengrab: Deb Kiel gets offended when she imagines Rick Hansen doesn't know something about pollinators. Her remarks were some serious floating signifiers from the Agro-Industrial complex. Either that, or Deb Kiel got Rep. Hansen confused with Mike Bloomberg.
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