Ecosystem-wide Threat
silvertipgrizz
Posts: 1,990 ✭✭✭✭✭
Comments
-
Thanks for posting this @silvertipgrizz. I was completely unaware that garden plants and seeds were being treated with this poison. I'll definitely be starting ALL my plants from seed this year.
-
Here is the story at a glance:
Story at-a-glance
- A majority of soybean, corn, canola and sunflower seeds planted in the U.S. are precoated with neonicotinoid insecticides, also known as “neonics.” More than half of garden plants attractive to bees sold at garden centers are also pretreated with these toxic pesticides
- Neonics have been shown to threaten the entire food chain, having toxic effects not just on pollinators such as bees, but also invertebrates, birds and other wildlife
- American agricultural land is now 48 times more toxic to insects than it was two decades ago, and between 1992 and 2014, neonicotinoids accounted for 92% of the total acute insecticide toxicity load
- Neonics affect migration behavior of songbirds by affecting their feeding patterns and fat stores. The chemicals act as a rapid appetite suppressant
- Research by the EPA in 2014 and 2019 concluded that neonicotinoid-treated seeds provide no significant financial or agricultural benefits for farmers
-
Anyone who cares about health, the earth, life should read this article.
-
After learning this I stopped buying boquets from florists and grocery stores as well unless they can guaranty the grower didn't use neonicotinoids.
-
@Desire’ Thanks for pointing that out, didn't think about that.
This Week's Leaders
Categories
- All Categories
- 36 Our Front Porch Welcome! (Please Read Before Posting)
- 29 Introductions & Region-Specific Discussions
- 372 Educational Opportunities & Resources
- 468 Current Events & Breaking News
- 54 Emergency/Disaster Preparedness & Resiliency
- 1.4K Our Garden: Growing Food
- 1.8K Our Apothecary: Natural & Home Medicine
- 517 The Back 40: Animal Husbandry & Harvesting
- 40 The Bush: Wild Game and Survival
- 547 Our Kitchen Table: Food Prep
- 402 The Homestead: DIY
- 1.2K Personal Journals
- 111 The General Store: Sell, Buy, & Barter