Will New Research From Europe Nudge Canada Toward a "Neonic" Ban?
by Larry Powell Most Canadian fields of canola ("oilseed rape" in Europe) grow from seed treated with neonics . PinP photo. Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), which tests and registers pesticides in this country, says it will take recent European research into account in deciding the future of neonicotinoids. They're the world's most widely used, and controversial family of insecticides. A major field study, published in the journal Nature last week, found that neonics did not seem to harm honey bees and two wild bee species scientists studied in Germany. However, it was a different story in Hungary and the U.K. There, the same species located near oil rapeseed (canola) crops treated with the neonic, clothianidin, produced 24% fewer workers the following spring! While the European Union clamped a moratorium on neonics in 2013, Canada chose a different path. The PMRA has continued to approve their use, even tho it
