As the related posts at the bottom of this entry demonstrate, Bluestem's been concerned about neonicotinoids for many years. In the Minnesota Reformer column republished below, beekeeper Steve Ellis lays out the case against neonicotinoid (“neonic”) treated seeds.
The ideas Ellis discusses are getting taken seriously elsewhere--and it's not just for restrictions on treated seeds. The National Caucus of Environmental Legislators reports in Vermont Becomes Second State to Enact Sweeping Pollinator Protections:
On June 17, Vermont became the second state in the nation to ban neonicotinoid pesticides. A supermajority vote of the Vermont House and Senate overrode the Governor’s veto to enact H 706. Vermont’s landmark, pollinator-protecting legislation places it on par with New York, the first state to ban the main agricultural uses of neonicotinoids last December.
- Why it Matters: Neonicotinoids are primarily used for agricultural purposes. However, studies have shown that neonicotinoid-treated seeds provide little to no overall net benefit for soybean and corn production. In general, neonicotinoids are a leading contributor to pollinator population decline. These pesticides are linked to numerous adverse health impacts for people such as developmental malformations, memory loss, and finger tremors.
From the Minnesota Reformer:
Seeds treated with neonics: Bad for bees, the environment and human health
By Steve EllisOver 14 million acres of Minnesota croplands such as corn and soy are planted with neonicotinoid (“neonic”) treated seeds.
As a beekeeper, such widespread use of an insecticide known to harm bees is extremely concerning.
Do the benefits of these pesticides outweigh the harm to my bees and my livelihood?
Research on the benefits of neonicotinoid seed treatments in corn and soybean suggest the answer is a resounding “no.”
Extensive studies of this subject by Cornell University and the EPA conclude that these treatments provide “no net economic benefit to farmers.”
These studies are affirmed by farmers elsewhere: Europe prohibited neonicotinoid treatments 10 years ago, and Quebec has effectively phased them out over the past five, yet production levels remain consistent, with no noticeable effect on yield in either the EU or Canada.
Meanwhile, neonicotinoid treatments are causing widespread harm.
Neonics are extraordinarily toxic to bees, aquatic bugs, and a wide variety of other life.
At least 95% of the neonic coating doesn’t enter the plant as intended; instead, it remains in the environment, contaminating wild plants, wildlife, surface waters and groundwater.
Insect predators that farmers count on for natural pest control are also eliminated, oftentimes decreasing yield as a result and requiring additional insecticidal spraying.
Neonics also harm soil health by killing insects and microbial life critical for capturing carbon and nutrient cycling.
Pollinators — including managed honeybees — are severely impacted by neonicotinoids. This lost pollination on high-value crops such as soy amounts to millions of dollars lost to Minnesota farmers.
Lost honey production and soaring bee losses cost Minnesota beekeepers millions.
Neonics have also been linked to various human health problems.
Research has connected neonics exposure to neurological, developmental and reproductive problems, including abnormal heart and brain development, reduced testosterone levels and birth defects.
For children, the risk of these health outcomes is greater. Worse still is the widespread reach that these pesticides seem to have.
Early CDC monitoring found neonics present in the bodies of half the U.S. population. Alarmingly, the highest levels were found in children. A more recent study of pregnant women has found neonics present in the bodies of over 95% of participants nationally, suggesting significantly higher rates of exposure despite the growing body of research raising concern about health implications.
Increasing human exposure also mirrors a pair of studies by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources finding neonics in 61% of deer in 2019 and, just two years later, finding them in 94% of deer statewide.
Neonics are among the most ecologically disastrous pesticides since DDT. And they are everywhere in Minnesota.
How do neonics work? Plants treated with neonics absorb the chemicals, rendering their leaves, nectar, pollen and fruit toxic to insects. Neonics are so toxic that a single treated seed can be potent enough to kill a quarter of a million bees — and kill, they do.
In a recent review by the EPA, it was discovered that neonics are driving over 200 species toward extinction — some of which are key pollinators.
The good news is that our state has already recognized the dangers of pesticides, and some regulations are already in place to protect people and the environment from these chemicals. But because treated seeds are not considered to be pesticides under state law, they are not subject to these crucial safeguards.
We need new legislation to protect our state from the dangers of neonics. One bill in particular, HF2472 (known as the “Treated Seed Bill”), would make strides in the protection of Minnesota’s agriculture, environment, and community health by addressing this regulatory loophole and ensuring seed treatments are only used as needed
The children and wildlife of Minnesota — and my bees — are never acceptable collateral, and our state deserves a future unburdened by the dangers that neonics present. With people, pollinators, and the future of our food supply at risk, there is no time for more delay.
A note on HF2472's legislative history
I'll close with notes on the legislative history of HF2472 (known as the “Treated Seed Bill” as Ellis notes)--and its Senate companion bill SF1718. Both bills were introduced in 2023 and referred to their respective chambers' ag committees. If the Office of the Revisor's Status in the House for the 93rd Legislature (2023-2024) and Status in the Senate for the 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) are correct, there's been some action on the companion bills, though they haven't made it into statute.
HF2472 was listed on the agenda for the House Ag Committee meeting of March 9,2023, but doesn't appear as an item of discussion in the accompanying minutes.
The minutes for the committee's Thursday, March 16, 2023 meeting note that author Rick Hansen, DFL-S. St. Paul, presented the bill. Here's an embedded clip of the Minnesota House Information Services YouTube of that part of the day's hearing:
The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the Ag omnibus bill.
So far as I am able to determine from looking at the Senate Agriculture, Broadband, and Rural Development Committee's 2023-2024 schedule. the Senate companion bill SF1718 did not get heard in the upper chamber and thus was readily left out of the omnibus bill.
There are more details about the final negotiations in 2023 ag and environmental conference committees, but Bluestem believes readers get the drift.
The Minnesota Reformer article above is republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Photo: A honeybee helping out an apple grower.
Related posts
- MN Pollution Control Agency makes 2nd request for comments on waste treated seed rules
- Omnibus environment bill aims to ‘correct past wrongs, prepare for future,’ committee chair says
- MNHouse Ag Committee approves proposed rules for disposal of pesticide-treated crop seeds
- Though court strikes down EPA chlorpyrifos ban for farmers, product still illegal on MN state lands
- See it in the Strib: the silence of Corn Growers about deer exposure to neonicotinoids
- Preliminary results from pesticide study show widespread neonic exposure in wild MN deer.
- Study shows endocrine-disrupting imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid, messes up does and fawns.
- South Dakota News Watch: study shows neonics a danger to deer, pheasant study results soon
- South Dakota study on neonicotinoids' effects on whitetails prompts MNDNR deer spleen request.
- LCCMR funded scholars studied the impact of neonicotinoids on surface and groundwater
- Large study finds neonicotinoids push honeybee hives over the edge; pesticide makers polish turd
- EPA cancels registration of 12 neonicotinoid products from Bayer, Syngenta & Valent
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