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£8m research plea to aid bees

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Published Date: 10 March 2008
MOST of Britain's honey bees could be wiped out by disease in 10 years, experts warned yesterday.
Worried beekeepers are launching a nationwide campaign to force the government to fund a £8 million research project which they say is needed to save the nation's bees.

Tim Lovett, president of the British Beekeeping Association, said: "Unless we develop effective protection, there could then be massive losses of bees across the country."





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  • Last Updated: 09 March 2008 9:43 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

GalacticCannibal,

Murrieta, CA........Hillary for Pres....Barack Hus 10/03/2008 04:32:56

massive losses of bees across the country."

Hey Dudes that is already happening here in the US ,

So far US scientists have no clue as to why the bees are dying in such vast numbers.

Bees are a major source for pollination, if they go, so will fruits and vegetables.

But hopefully not the SHROOMS

GC


2

Em,

10/03/2008 10:52:40
GC,

There is growing proof that the cause of the disappearing/dying bees is genetically engineered crops.
The main stream media however refuses to put the two together because GM crops must be seen as safe in order to aid the global push to get the crops into the food supply.

A former agronomist has commented that the one trial of GM crops in the Netherlands quickly led to colony collapse within 100 kilometers of the fields, and it's reasonable to hypothesize nature's pollinators would bear an averse reaction to plants with poison coursing through every stem.

The amount of Bt in these plants is enough to trigger allergies in some people, and irritate the skin and eyes of farmers who handle the crops. In India, when sheep were used to clear a field of leftover Bt cotton, several sheep died after eating it. If it can kill a sheep it can certainly kill a bee.

But time will tell if they decide to let the real culprit be known, I get the impression though that a government funded study will claim it to be some other cause even though it may be directly linked with GM.
3

mike - across the pond,

EM.... and GC 10/03/2008 19:30:23
hey clowns... its called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).... its been going on in china for the better part of 20 years...

in China they have been "hand polinating" fruit trees for most of that span.... in areas where they havent seen any polinating bees in nearly 20 years

and viola it isnt global warming... or the bush administration.... it is related to Israel... but most likely only in name...

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=bees-ccd-virus

its a VIRUS...

JEEZ GUYS... do your homework before you start on your self loathing "genetic food".... or other tired rants....
4

Douglas,

Bathgate 10/03/2008 19:49:15
The massive loss of bees can only be good for tourism in Astard and Ollocks.
5

Conan the Librarian™,

10/03/2008 22:35:45
4
Ullshit and Ugger can only benefit too.
6

Em,

11/03/2008 17:10:07
Mike,

Yes we all know what it's called.

One of the studies lead members in the report you link to is quoted as saying...
"We haven't proven this is the cause. It is a candidate for being a trigger for CCD,"
he also goes on to say...
"Time-consuming tests are needed to determine whether IAPV can trigger CCD alone or in concert with other stressors, or whether certain combinations of stressors instead make hives vulnerable to the virus."

researchers have found that GMO's can have a weakening effect on the immune system.

Other researchers studying bees who have been affected found the following "The large number of pathogens suggested that the bees' immune systems had been suppressed, allowing the proliferation of infections."

I'm not suggesting that IAPV does not play a role in colony collapse disorder but I am of the opinion that GM crops are allowing such viruses to escalate, much in the same way that people don't die from AIDS, but from other oppurtunistic infections that normally would not kill a person with a healthy immune system.

Then there is also a huge lack of publicly available information evaluating the effects of GM crops on bees.
Any studies that have been conducted are funded by biotechnology corporations and remain confidential.
If GM crops do not contribute to the problem you would expect the companies in question to make their findings public so that they may be eliminated as a possible cause. This lack of openness raises serious credibility issues regarding corporate claims about the safety of GM crops. If their research is solid, then why is it kept secret?

Mike, perhaps in future you could weigh up all matters that may contribute to the problem instead of name calling while applauding yourself in your ability to misinterpret someone else's research.

 

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