Bayer: Bee-Toxic Pesticide Killed
German Bees, But Is Safe in America
Take this sentence, for example: "Bayer
CropScience was recently made aware of an unauthorized release from within the
Environmental Protection Association (EPA) of a document regarding the seed
treatment product, clothianidin, which is sold in the United States corn
market." The document's release was not "unauthorized"; it was available through
the Freedom of Information Act. It was forwarded to Colorado beekeeper Tom
Theobald by an EPA employee, who first made Theobald aware of it. But that's
almost beside the point.
Bayer also notes that its flawed study
"was peer-reviewed and published in the Journal of Economic
Entomology, and that the EPA initially called it "scientifically sound" and
said it "satisfies the guideline requirements for a field toxicity test with
honey bees."
Indeed, that was what the Agency said at
first blush. But the recently unearthed document reveals the EPA's concern with
the study. "Another field study is needed to evaluate the effects of
clothianidin on bees through contaminated pollen and nectar," it says. In other
words, the study doesn't satisfy guideline requirements for a
core study on honey bee safety.
Bayer's response? "This was an incomplete
document, something that they were working on," says Jack Boyne, Director of
Communications at Bayer CropScience. "The study in question was a peer-reviewed,
scientifically valid study."
Then there's this statement in the
release: "Clothianidin is the leading seed treatment on corn in the United
States and has been used extensively for over six years without incident to
honey bees." That's disingenuous at best. Bayer has already admitted that the
misapplication of clothianidin was responsible for killing two-thirds of
beekeepers' bees in the Baden-Württemberg region of Germany.
A number of factors contributed to the
disaster in Germany--a combination of strong winds, dryness in the area, and
faulty seed coatings from a local seed treatment company are all responsible. "I
don't think it will happen again. This is one of the leading products in corn as
a seed treatment, and we have not seen this type of incident since," says
Boyne.
But even if clothianidin is entirely safe
if applied correctly--and we don't believe it is--Bayer can't guarantee that the
pesticide will be used properly by growers. Should the fate of our bees--and a
third of American agriculture--really rest in the hands of seed treatment
companies and changeable weather conditions?