Poland beekeepers kick Monsanto out of the hive, successfully ban bee-killing GM corn

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

http://capwiz.com/grassrootsnetroots/issues/alert/?alertid=22033501

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/036010_Poland_Monsanto_GM_corn.html#ixzz1wNl0jDsI

Government tyranny: Illinois Department of Agriculture secretly destroys beekeeper's bees and 15 years of research proving Monsanto's Roundup kills bees

An Illinois beekeeper with more than a decade's worth of expertise about how to successfully raise organic, chemical-free bees is the latest victim of flagrant government tyranny. According to the Prairie Advocate, Terrence "Terry" Ingram of Apple River, Ill., owner of Apple Creek Apiaries, recently had his bees and beehives stolen from him by the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDofA), as well as more than 15 years' worth of research proving Monsanto's Roundup to be the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) destroyed.

It began last summer when Ingram, who teaches children about natural beekeeping, gave a sample of his honeycomb to IDofA inspector Susan Kivikko (http://www.agr.state.il.us/programs/bees/inspectors.html) at a beekeeper's picnic. Ingram explained that his bees would not touch the comb, and asked Kivikko if it could be tested for chemical contamination.

Kivikko told him that IDofA does not test for chemicals, presumably because its policy is to actively promote them, and instead took the comb and had it tested for "foulbrood," a disease that Ingram says is greatly overblown. When the test allegedly came back positive, Kivikko proceeded to get the ball rolling on a witch hunt that would eventually lead to the illegal seizure and destruction of Ingram's personal property.

Not only did Kivikko, as well as her colleague Eleanor Balson and superior Steven D. Chard, break the law by trespassing Ingram's property on numerous occasions without a warrant, but they also committed numerous crimes by stealing his hives and equipment and destroying pertinent evidence before a hearing, which Ingram believes may have ultimately been rooted in a deliberate conspiracy by the state to hide the truth about Roundup, and subsequently steal his most vibrant bees.

IDofA appears to have targeted Ingram for his research linking Roundup to CCD

Of particular interest was Ingram's extensive research on Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, which began several years ago when hundreds of Ingram's hives had died. He later determined that Roundup sprayings near his property were to blame, which prompted him to actively research the subject and closely monitor his hives in conjunction with this research from that point onward.

What he gathered, and subsequently taught to others, was concrete evidence that Roundup kills bees. He also used this information and his many years of experience to develop and refine ways of growing strong, chemical-free bees in spite of Roundup sprayings, a move that apparently upset IDofA, which operates primarily to serve the interests of chemical companies rather than the interests of the people.

"Is Illinois becoming a police state, where citizens do not have rights?" asked Ingram, who has been deliberately denied his rights, to the Prairie Advocate. "Knowing that Monsanto and the Department of Agriculture are in bed together, one has to wonder if Monsanto was behind the theft to ruin my research that may prove Roundup was, and is, killing honeybees."

Be sure to read the full Prairie Advocate story about Terry Ingram, which includes a video interview, here:
http://www.pacc-news.com/5-2-12/heart_ingram5_2_12.html

Sources for this article include:

http://www.pacc-news.com/5-2-12/heart_ingram5_2_12.html

http://www.agr.state.il.us/programs/bees/inspectors.html

Source:  http://www.naturalnews.com/035920_beekeeper_Illinois_raid.html#ixzz1vQygHL3E

Confirmed: Common pesticide crashing honeybee populations around the world

Two new studies published in the journal Science have once again confirmed what several previous studies, including one compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), have found concerning the epidemic of colony collapse disorder (CCD) among bee populations -- neonicotinoid insecticides are largely responsible for causing this deadly phenomenon.

Scientists from both the U.K. and France have now undoubtedly proven that neonicotinoid insecticides, which are commonly used on major food crops, are causing bees to lose their ability to properly navigate the natural environment. And as a result, many of them end up getting lost when they are out pollinating and never return back to their hives, which has resulted in an 85 percent reduction in queen bee production, collectively.

For the first study, which was led by biologist Mickael Henry of INRA, a French agricultural research agency, a research team tagged honeybees with radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips, and dosed some of them with neonicotinoid chemicals. They discovered that those exposed to neonicotinoids were twice as likely as the non-exposed group to lose their way and die outside their hives.

In the second study, David Goulson, a bee biologist at Scotland's University of Stirling, and his team exposed developing bees inside their hives to varying levels of neonicotinoids and set them free to forage in an enclosed field. After six weeks, it was determined that the bees exposed to neonicotinoids grew to be smaller in size than non-exposed bees, and also produced a shocking 85 percent fewer queens.

"Nests have annual cycles," explained Goulson about his team's findings. "They start with a single queen, and the nest grows through the season. If it doesn't get big enough, it doesn't have the resources to pour into rearing queens. The French study shows that exposure to neonicotinoids makes honeybees less likely to find their nest. That's likely the mechanisms that led to our nests growing more slowly."

But these findings are expected when considering that bees are insects, and neonicotinoids are designed to destroy insects. Whether applied to the outsides of seeds as they are planted, or sprayed on crops after they are planted, neonicotinoids are highly toxic to this vital plant pollinator. And the USDA has been aware of this for years, but done nothing about it.

"Bees' ability to navigate is very important," added Goulson. "When they leave their nest, they fly miles to gather food. Anything that makes them even a little bit worse at navigating or learning could be a disaster in those circumstances."

Sources for this article include:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/03/neonicotinoids-bee-collapse/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17535769

http://www.naturalnews.com/031091_USDA_pesticide.html

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035518_honey_bees_pesticides_science.html#ixzz1rhI4d8qj

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/035518_honey_bees_pesticides_science.html