AGRICULTURE »» FARM POLLUTION »» LIVESTOCK ANTIBIOTICS »» Jan 16, 2023

We are very dependent upon honeybees to pollinate many of our crops such as apples, almonds, avocados, cherries, strawberries, blueberries, broccoli, soybeans and more. These pollinators provide at least $25 billion in economic benefits to our farmers each year. There are now about 2.6 million bee colonies in the U.S., down from 3 million in 1990 and less than half of the 6 million there were in 1947. Colony collapse disorder (CCD) is a phenomenon in which worker bees from beehives abruptly die or disappear. A recent CCD study released by our Agriculture Department citied the increasing pressures of climate change, habitat destruction, pesticide use and disease as the probable causes of honeybee decline. The first-ever honeybee vaccine has recently been approved for foulbrood disease, an aggressive fatal bacterium that can spread quickly from hive to hive. This vaccine is fed to worker bees who incorporate the vaccine into royal jelly, which they feed to the queen bee. Once consumed, fragments of the vaccine are deposited in the queen’s ovaries so her larvae will be born with immunity to this disease. Although pesticide manufacturers claim their products are not the cause of CCD, advocates say science shows otherwise. A class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids, a neuroactive insecticide chemically similar to nicotine, is strongly suspected to be a main cause of CCD. Neonicotinoids, or neonics as they are called, impair a honeybee’s neurological functions including memory, cognition and behavior – scrambling their navigation function and ability to forage. Scientists say nicotine-addicted bees prefer food tainted with neonic pesticides to non-treated food and their studies have shown bees to be as susceptible to nicotine addiction as humans. Proposed Legislation: Reintroduction of H.R.4079 - Saving America’s Pollinators Act of 2021 Prospective Sponsor: Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR) I oppose reforming current honeybee policy and wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (CA). I support the EPA establishing a Pollinator Protection Board to develop an independent review process for pesticides that pose a threat to pollinators and their habitats; cancelling the registrations of any pesticides containing pesticides including neonicotinoids and the effects of residues, repeated applications, and multiple chemical exposures, and wish to donate resources to Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR) and/or to an advocate group currently working with this issue.

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I support the EPA establishing a Pollinator Protection Board to develop an independent review process for pesticides that pose a threat to pollinators and their habitats; cancelling the registrations of any pesticides containing pesticides including neonicotinoids and the effects of residues, repeated applications, and multiple chemical exposures, and wish to donate resources to Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR) and/or to an advocate group currently working with this issue.

Trustee Candidates

Representative If elected as a trustee, the campaign committee of Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR) will be unconditionally awarded the funds pledged to this issue along with a letter requesting him to favorably consider either reintroducing H.R.4079 - Saving America’s Pollinators Act of 2021, or a similar version thereof. Pesticide Action Network North America If elected as a trustee, Pesticide Action Network North America will be awarded the funds pledged to this issue along with a letter requesting these funds be used to publicize the danger of neonicotinoid pesticides to bee populations, and to advocate for a moratorium on this chemical until proven safe to honeybees. Mission: At Pesticide Action Network (PAN) North America, we work to create a just, thriving food system. For too long, pesticide and biotech corporations have dictated how we grow food, placing the health and economic burdens of pesticide use on farmers, farmworkers and rural communities. PAN works with those on the frontlines to tackle the pesticide problem — and reclaim the future of food and farming.

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