Are GM Crops Killing Bees?

Sounds like an opportunity to do a little genetic restructuring of the bee population - aka - breeding.

Re: Are GM Crops Killing Bees?


That appears to be jumping the gun a bit. Your own linked article doesn't even make that claim.

I don't think it's a mysterious man made chemical. Pesticide application is a big problem, but the real culprit is super bacteria. For years commercial bee keepers have been over medicating their bees, thus weakening the bees and strengthening the bacteria. If you Google "honey bee diseases" you will get a good idea of the problem. It's true our food supply depends on pollinators, not just the honey bee, but on many varieties of pollinators. Honey bees have always been an easy addition to an orchard becasue of how they are raised as a domestic crop, plus the benefit of getting sellable honey. In the US some farmers are encouraging the native Mason bee to fill in because of honey bee declines (honey bees are European), but Mason bees will not make anyone honey. Honey bee decline will mean far less honey or very expensive honey for the average consumer. What it means for the food supply in the long run remains to be seen.

Sounds like the price of honey will be going up.

Re: Are GM Crops Killing Bees?

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That is true, I overdid it a little. But it has been supected by some experts.
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quote:
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.

Re: Are GM Crops Killing Bees?


Yeah. I'm sure there are experts that beleive it all due to an alien invasion too but that doesn't make it so. :wink:

If the problem is due to genetically modified crops in the U.S. then why is the exact same problem showing up in Australia too? And why isn't it showing up in all bees colonies in the U.S.?

There are all sorts of answers. Here's a completely different view on the "cause".: http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070310/A_BIZ/703100309

Re: Are GM Crops Killing Bees?


Right. It's all W's fault.

It's all indicative of a pending eco-disaster. For a real eye-opener witness the global decimation of the amphibians, which generally represent a very good barometer on the global ecological health, certainly a better general eco-barometer than bees alone, not to diminish the bee's importance however.

Massively declining wild fish stocks and the dangerously short sighted new trend of fish farming is simply more of the same.

Indicators abound and it's not going to matter what political party is in power. When push comes to shove, jobs will always come before the ecology even it destroys most humans, plants, and animals in the process!

My husband recently went to a conference about farming and the environment and one of the most commonly heard phrase from the scientists was "we live on a dying planet". Five years ago the same people were talking about "when the domino will fall" or "if the domino will fall" - this time the majority were in agreement that the domino has fallen and now it remains to be seen if it can be stopped.

You mention the fish stocks - even the guy representing the Bush administration admitted that the oceans have lost 70% of the fish stock over the past 50 years. The biggest culprits are Asia and Russia who refuse to manage their catch. Every McFish we eat only makes the problem worse.

here and if you'd care to comment, you're more than welcome to.

Why do you blame American culture and corporations for everything you see wrong with the world?

What exactly does McDonalds, a hamburger joint, have to do with declining fish stocks? I'll tell you - nothing.

I didn't specifically say America - I've seen McFish type sandwiches sold all over the world. The main ingredient is pollock, an important food source for larger fish and ocean mammals. The worst harvesters of pollock are the Japanese and Chinese who make things like fake crab meat from it. They use vacuum ships to suck up huge schools of the fish and in the process they suck up all the marine life in the area, wether it's wanted for food or not. They leave behind miles of empty ocean. American fisherman actually are some of the more environmentally correct users of the ocean. Many American fleets have been switching to better methods for years. The US was one of the first countries to recognize the approaching problems and have been trying to curb the greed of other countries. I would never buy shrimp from an Asian shrimp farm, but I have no problem with US shrimp. If you want to specifically know the problems American fast food is causing I suggest you read "Fast Food Nation" - after reading it you will be even more happy to hunt your own.

Re: Are GM Crops Killing Bees?

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What is different in Australia? They have GM crops too.

I like pollock.

http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_regional.aspx

I'm aware of this source cjhsa, and I was happy to hear NPR promoting it recently. However, the pollock controversy is far from settled, despite some responsible groups embracing its use again. The pollock populations were greatly cut in 80's and 90's and only after recent changes (mostly championed by the US over the last 5 years) have stocks started to go back up. Unfortunately, Sea lions are still going hungary because they can't afford a McFish.

I'm glad to see you actually referencing an intelligent link for a change.

Ecological Apocalypse: Why Are All The Bees Dying?
GM, toxic chemicals, chemtrails destroying eco-system, threatening very survival of humanity

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet
Tuesday, April 10, 2007


The alarming decline in bee populations across the United States and Europe represents a potential ecological apocalypse, an environmental catastrophe that could collapse the food chain and wipe out humanity. Who and what is behind this flagrant abuse of the eco-system?

Many people don't realize the vital role bees play in maintaining a balanced eco-system. According to experts, if bees were to become extinct then humanity would perish after just four years.

"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," said Albert Einstein.

Others would say four years is alarmist and that man would find other food sources, but the fact remains that the disappearance of bees is potentially devastating to agriculture and most plant life.

Reports that bee populations are declining at rates of up to 80% in areas of the U.S. and Europe should set alarm bells ringing and demand immediate action on behalf of environmental organizations. Experts are calling the worrying trend "colony collapse disorder" or CCD.

"Bee numbers on parts of the east coast and in Texas have fallen by more than 70 percent, while California has seen colonies drop by 30 to 60 percent," reports AFP.

"Approximately 40 percent of my 2,000 colonies are currently dead and this is the greatest winter colony mortality I have ever experienced in my 30 years of beekeeping," apiarist Gene Brandi, from the California State Beekeepers Association, told Congress recently.

The article states that U.S. bee colonies have been dropping since 1980 and the number of beekeepers have halved.

Scientists are thus far stumped as to what is causing the decline, ruling out parasites but leaning towards some kind of new toxin or chemical used in agriculture as being responsible. "Experts believe that the large-scale use of genetically modified plants in the US could be a factor," reports Germany's Spiegal Online.

Bee populations throughout Germany have simultaneously dropped 25% and up to 80% in some areas. Poland, Switzerland and Spain are reporting similar declines. Studies have shown that bees are not dying in the hive, something is causing them to lose their sense of orientation so that they cannot return to the hive. Depleted hives are not being raided for their honey by other insects, which normally happens when bees naturally die in the winter, clearly suggesting some kind of poisonous toxin is driving them away.

"In many cases, scientists have found evidence of almost all known bee viruses in the few surviving bees found in the hives after most have disappeared. Some had five or six infections at the same time and were infested with fungi -- a sign, experts say, that the insects' immune system may have collapsed."

A study at the University of Jena from 2001 to 2004 showed that toxins from a genetically modified maize variant designed to repel insects, when combined with a parasite, resulted in a "significantly stronger decline in the number of bees" than normal.

"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."

Kaatz was desperate to continue his studies but funding was cut off.

Honey bees are not native to the U.S., and they can be considered "alien." The importation of honey bees by the millions has displaced native bees, who for tens of millions of years have been pollinating plants on this continent. With the disappearance of the honey bee in this country, native bees may well resurge and take on the pollinating role of the honey bee. I believe that most of them are solitary instead of social and therefore the honey crop would disappear, but that is not catastrophic. However, with the widespread use of pesticides, the question is whether the native bees can make a resurgence.

There are also other pollinators besides bees and wasps, for instance, the bee fly, a fly with its proboscis permanently stuck out.

Quote:
A study at the University of Jena from 2001 to 2004 showed that toxins from a genetically modified maize variant designed to repel insects, when combined with a parasite, resulted in a "significantly stronger decline in the number of bees" than normal.
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Your article on native bees sounds very optimistic and might solve our problem.
If GM foods combined with parasites kill 'alien' bees, they also might kill native bees. Those are hard to research, being loners.

How did the decline in bee population cause a reduction in the blue berry crop? I still don't see the relation between bees and blue berries. :wink: