On the third anniversary of the EU's restrictions on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides, 18 UK campaigning organisations have called on Defra to extend the ban, in response to mounting evidence of harm to pollinators.
It is three years since the EU decided that neonicotinoid pesticides posed a sufficiently high risk to honeybees -- which are essential pollinators in food chains -- to warrant imposing restrictions on their use.
Since then, according to Sustain member Friends of The Earth, which has led the campaign to protect bees and other pollinators, evidence has mounted of the harm 'neonics' do, not just to honeybees, but to other bee species as well. The pesticides impair the bees' ability to feed, navigate and reproduce, resulting in declining populations. Neonics have also been linked to harm in bird and butterfly populations.
To mark the anniversary, no fewer than 18 UK-based environmental and wildlife NGOs have signed an open letter to Defra Secretary Andrea Leadsom, calling for the restrictions to be continued, and extended to more crops. The letter says this is a chance for the Government 'to catch up with scientific evidence and public opinion' on the importance of protecting pollinators.
Read the letter here, and find out more here about Sustain's work for a greener, healthier, fairer food system here.
Published Sunday 4 December 2016
Sustain: Sustain The alliance for better food and farming advocates food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, enrich society and culture and promote equity.
