roadrunner
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This story has been big news for gardeners for the past few years here in the States. I've heard all kinds of pros and cons of this ban, which wasn't really a ban when they first did this in 2013, but I think it's probably closer to a ban nowadays (or maybe not)...
The pros are kind of obvious, but the cons I've heard is that this ban is only a ban on the new type of Neonicotinoids, but when you ban those, then it forces people to use more deadly pesticides; at least that is what I've heard.
Is this true or am I way off base?
BTW, I don't have a dog in the fight, because I don't use any type of X-icides, including herbicides, since I just like observing nature; I don't fret if something eats my tomato plants...
I'm just really curious....
Here's the latest article: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/04/european-union-expands-ban-three-neonicotinoid-pesticides
Excerpt:
The European Union today expanded a controversial ban of neonicotinoid pesticides, based on the threat they pose to pollinators. The decision pleased environmental groups and was greeted with trepidation by farming associations, which fear economic harm.
In 2013, the European Union placed a moratorium on three kinds of neonicotinoids, forbidding their use in flowering crops that appeal to honey bees and other pollinating insects. The pesticides are commonly coated onto seeds to protect them from soil pests; when the seed germinates, the pesticide is absorbed and spreads through the tissue. It eventually reaches pollen and nectar, which is how pollinators are exposed. Many studies have shown harm to pollinators in laboratory settings; large field trials have produced mixed results.
The European Commission last year proposed extending the ban of three neonicotinoids—clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam—to all field crops, because of growing evidence that the pesticides can harm domesticated honey bees and also wild pollinators. A scientific review by the European Food Safety Authority, released this February, added momentum to the campaign.
The pros are kind of obvious, but the cons I've heard is that this ban is only a ban on the new type of Neonicotinoids, but when you ban those, then it forces people to use more deadly pesticides; at least that is what I've heard.
Is this true or am I way off base?
BTW, I don't have a dog in the fight, because I don't use any type of X-icides, including herbicides, since I just like observing nature; I don't fret if something eats my tomato plants...
I'm just really curious....
Here's the latest article: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/04/european-union-expands-ban-three-neonicotinoid-pesticides
Excerpt:
The European Union today expanded a controversial ban of neonicotinoid pesticides, based on the threat they pose to pollinators. The decision pleased environmental groups and was greeted with trepidation by farming associations, which fear economic harm.
In 2013, the European Union placed a moratorium on three kinds of neonicotinoids, forbidding their use in flowering crops that appeal to honey bees and other pollinating insects. The pesticides are commonly coated onto seeds to protect them from soil pests; when the seed germinates, the pesticide is absorbed and spreads through the tissue. It eventually reaches pollen and nectar, which is how pollinators are exposed. Many studies have shown harm to pollinators in laboratory settings; large field trials have produced mixed results.
The European Commission last year proposed extending the ban of three neonicotinoids—clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam—to all field crops, because of growing evidence that the pesticides can harm domesticated honey bees and also wild pollinators. A scientific review by the European Food Safety Authority, released this February, added momentum to the campaign.