Bee deaths
GM foods
Monsanto
Poland beekeepers kick Monsanto out of the hive, successfully ban
bee-killing GM corn
Tuesday, May 29, 2012 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
http://www.naturalnews.com
(NaturalNews) A significant health freedom victory has taken place in the
European nation of Poland, where all plantings of Monsanto's MON810, a
genetically-modified (GM) variety of maize (corn) that produces its own built-in
Bt insecticide in every kernel, have been officially banned.
The decision comes after thousands of protesters recently took to the streets in
demonstration of the undeniable fact that both MON810 and the chemicals applied
to it are at least partially responsible for causing Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD),
the worldwide phenomenon in which entire swarms of honey bees disappear or turn
up dead.
"The decree is in the works. It introduces a complete ban on the MON810 strain
of maize in Poland," said Polish Agriculture Minister Marek Sawicki, who also
explained to the press that pollen from MON810 appears to be responsible for
further devastating the already dwindling bee population throughout the country
and elsewhere.
According to reports, Poland's decision to ban MON810 makes it the first nation
to formally acknowledge that Monsanto's GM corn is definitively linked to CCD.
It also affirms the findings of several earlier studies that have identified a
link between Bt GM crops and bee deaths, including independent research
conducted by Pennsylvania beekeeper John McDonald.
McDonald's research found that bees foraging near Bt crops did not gain the
proper amount of weight, and failed to produce honey in their honey supers
(honey storage bins) when they should have. Their non-Bt crop counterparts, on
the other hand, produced more than double the amount of honey they needed to
survive the winter (http://www.naturalnews.com/025287.html).
Back in early March, nine European countries -- Belgium, Great Britain,
Bulgaria, France, Germany, Ireland, and Slovakia -- successfully blocked an
effort by the Danish EU presidency to allow expanded cultivation of GM crops in
Europe. And around that same time, France imposed its own ban on MON810.
Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to forge ahead in the unmitigated, and largely
unregulated, cultivation and use of GM crops. Despite countless grassroots
efforts to put at least some restraint on GM agriculture, including a number of
state initiatives that would require GMO labeling on food, Monsanto's products
continue to dominate much of the American agricultural landscape.
To learn more about how you can support the preservation of honeybees in your
local community, be sure to visit:
http://www.honeybeehaven.org/content/take-pledge
Sources for this article include:
http://www.polishnews.com