GM Crops May Be Killing our Bees UPDATED
Sun Mar 25, 2007 at 12:52:15 PM PDT
As you all probably know, there is a mysterious die-off of our bees currently going on. It's a huge deal, and has the potential to decimate our agriculture.
I came across an article through Raw Story that indicates that GM crops may be responsible.
http://www.spiegel.de/...
There are several theories:
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.
The bees that are dying show an unusual set of symptoms.. Almost like an "AIDS" for bees. They are often infected with all of the known bee viruses and also are infested with fungii, which indicates suppressed and damaged immune systems.
It is particularly worrisome, she said, that the bees' death is accompanied by a set of symptoms "which does not seem to match anything in the literature."
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.
Furthermore, when colonies die out, neighboring bees and insects usually move into the vacant hive. Not so in these cases, indicating that the hives are toxic.
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.
Furthermore, bt-corn pollen doesn't kill bees by itself, but when other factors play in, mortality increases.
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.
Maybe the poison feed compromised their immune systems. A caveat, however:
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.
If this is really the cause of our bee die-off, could this be the event that will compel public opinion against GM crops? Will Monsanto (and other GM crop producers) bear any accountability for this?
Sorry this diary is so short; just wanted to get this out there.
Update: I'm getting killed for not providing enough information, and added blockquotes. And please, I'm not trying to be hysterical. Please explain where I am compelling hysteria.
Permalink | 79 comments