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Years in the making, Vanishing Of The Bees Debuts in UK Tommorow
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by Alan Harman
The world’s largest consumer-owned business calls on the British government to commission research into the effects some pesticides are having on honey bees.
The call by The Cooperative Ltd. coincides with the launch of the feature film, Vanishing of the Bees, which outlines the decline in the honey bee population
The coop wants everyone who sees the film to write to Environment Minister Hilary Benn MP urging him to fund research into the neonicotinoid family of chemicals.
Some studies have linked these types of pesticides to honey bee colony collapse.
The coop announced in January it was was expanding its market-leading pesticide policy and prohibiting the use of all eight of the neonicotinoid family of chemicals on its own-brand fresh produce.
The banned pesticides are Acetamiprid, Clothianidin, Dinotefuran, Fipronil, Imidacloprid, Nitenpyram, Thiacloprid and Thiamethoxam.
At the same time, it said it was giving £150,000 ($241,480) for research into the decline of the honey bee, the UK’s largest ever private donation for bee research.
Last spring the coop’s farms began a three-year research project seeking to identify the optimal mix of wildflowers that can be sown in field margins and on “set-aside” land to attract and support honey bees.
The coop is the UK’s largest farmer with more than 61,780 acres of land under management.
The coop’s head of social goals Paul Monaghan says the alarming drop in the number of honey bees and in turn the threat that has on our food supplies is very worrying and it is essential to find out what is happening and quickly.
“The finger of suspicion has been pointed at some pesticides and in particular, the use of neonicotinoids,” he says. “This family of chemicals has been linked to honey bee declines elsewhere in Europe and that is why they have been restricted in Germany, France, Italy and Slovenia. However, very little independent research into their effects on bees has been carried out in the UK.
“That is why we are calling for the government, which earlier this year announced that it had put aside £10 million ($16 million) to be used on pollinator research, to carry out a systematic review of the impact these pesticides are having on the well-being of honey bees.”
Vanishing of the Bees, the latest film to be distributed by the coop is a new chapter in its Plan Bee campaign designed to help halt the fall in the number of honey bees and raise awareness of the issue. The film tells the story of the worldwide decline in bee populations and explores the potential causes behind the losses.
The coop, after the acquisition of Somerfield supermarkets, is the world's largest consumer-owned business, with more than 4.5 million members and 87,000 employees.
. The food retail business is the largest division of the coop. It directly operates more than 2,200 stores of various sizes with the biggest geographical spread of any retailer.
Filmmakers George Langworthy and Maryam Henein say they were drawn to make the documentary because it encapsulates grand issues about ecology, agriculture, economy and politics in a mystery about the amazing little honey bee.
“Beekeepers and scientists are fascinating people and we really have been blessed with such generous access to their homes, their travels, their laboratories and their innermost thoughts and feelings,” they say.
To find out more about this film and the film makers go visit their web page here
This message brought to you by Bee Culture, The Magazine Of American Beekeeping, and on October 5, 2009…Bee Culture Goes Digital! Watch for more information on Digital Bee Culture, The Paper AND Digital Magazine Of American Beekeeping
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