A while back I had stopped worrying about bee Colony Collapse Disorder because it had been out of the news for a while. From this morning’s New York Times it seems like I was wrong. Apparently if anything the rate of bee colonies collapsing has accelerated. This could turn into a very serious threat to the food supply for anything that needs pollination by bees which includes many fruits and vegetables.
One of the potential culprits here are genetically modified plants that include so-called neonicotinoids. The largest producer of such plants is Monsanto. And that makes a provision that was “slipped” into the Agricultural Appropriations Bill so pernicious: it protects the makers of genetically modified seeds from litigation related to health risks.
I am not against progress and I am not even against genetic modification in general (although I am highly suspect of it), but letting commercial entities get all the upside and carry none of the risk is a terrible idea no matter what you believe otherwise. We need bees, but we can do just fine without Monsanto. If you feel similarly outraged, go sign the petition!
