French No Neonicotinoids

French beekeepers hold mass-demonstrations in the street to say:

No! To the neonicotinoids insecticide CRUISER!

No! To neonicotinoids insecticides that kill bees!

Despite the withdrawal of the license for Syngenta’s pesticide ‘Cruiser’, by the French Council of State,  for use as a seed treatment on maize in 2008, 2009 and 2010, the Ministry of Agriculture not only continued to allow use of this product, but in June 2011 it authorized the use of Syngenta ‘Cruiser OSR’ for oilseed rape/canola.

 "Cruiser" contains the active substance 'thiamethoxam", a neonicotinoids insecticide that is deadly for bees. Permitting the use of thiamethoxam as a seed-dressing for oilseed rape/ canola - on flowers visited by bees, butterflies and bumblebees, poses a grave threat to the future of all bee-colonies in France.

Populations of honeybees and wild bees continue to disappear:

 The granting of these licenses is a complete disaster for our beekeeping industry, for agriculture and for wildlife and biodiversity!

That is why beekeepers have organised a day of national demonstrations against Syngenta’s pesticide ‘Cruiser’ for the day of Saturday, October 15, 2011

Demonstrations and marches by beekeepers in many regions of France:            

At Agen with beekeepers union of the Great West: Aquitaine,

 Brittany, Loire-Atlantique, ...

 Gathering point of the event: 2:30 p.m.

 In front of the Hotel de la Prefecture - St. Armand Fallières - Agen

 Press Contact: Auzeral Bertrand, President of the Gascon Bee - 06 89 29 48 62

“Pesticides – A Danger to Your Health and to Bees” -

 At Dijon with beekeepers' unions from the Burgundy region

 Franche-Comte and GDSA Côte-d'Or

 Gathering  point of the event: 9:30am

 In front of the Hotel de la Prefecture - Rue de la Prefecture - Dijon

 Press Contact: Philippe Gaulard 06 12 47 75 16         

 In Grenoble, a united demonstration of the entire beekeeping profession,

 Gathering point of the event: 2:30pm, In front of the Hotel de la Prefecture - Place de Verdun - Grenoble

 Press Contact: Frederic Chasson, President of the Union beekeeping - 06 61 68 91 36

“Gaucho, Regent, Cruiser –Stop the Bees Dying – No Biodiversity Without Bees!”      

 In Paris: one day earlier, on October 14, a delegation of beekeepers

 With hives and smokers demonstrated outside the headquarters of pesticide company Syngenta in Guyancourt.

 Friday, October 14, 2011 at 12am

 1 Ave. Meadows in Guyancourt          

  

France Leads the Way!

 This spring, the government of Slovenia withdrew the market-authorization of ‘Cruiser’ (Thiamethoxam) on maize because of excess deaths of bee colonies. In late June 2011, the Italian government renewed its ban on Cruiser for the third year running, banning the use of Cruiser on maize. A few days later, also in Italy, a study was published of bee colony deaths in the maize-growing regions: bee-colony-deaths stood at 37.5% for the period 2007-2008 (before the ban on Cruiser); the observed mortality dropped to less than 15% for the period 2010-2011 (after the ban), whereas colony mortality is still averaging 30% in other EU countries like France, Germany and the UK.

And still we bury our heads in the sand, why of why are we so slow to recognise the danger we as humans inflict on our selves?

Only when the last tree had died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish caught will we realize we cannot eat money.....based on a Cree saying.

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