Ortho to drop chemicals linked to bee declines
DENVER » Garden-care giant Ortho said today it will stop using a class of chemicals widely believed to harm bees.
The company plans to phase out neonicotinoids by 2021 in eight products used to control garden pests and diseases.
Ortho will change three products for roses, flowers, trees and shrubs by 2017 and other products later, said Tim Martin, vice president and general manager of Ortho, a division of Marysville, Ohio-based Scotts Miracle-Gro Co.
The chemicals, called neonics for short, attack the central nervous systems of insects. Some advocates say neonics are one of several reasons behind declining populations of bees, which are major pollinators of food crops.
About one-third of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants, and honeybees are responsible for 80 percent of that pollination.
Ortho is acting out of concern for possible threats to honeybees and other pollinators and to reassure customers that “Ortho’s got their back, taking care of whatever they need controlled in the most responsible manner,” Martin said.
The change might require gardeners to apply the reformulated products more frequently, but it will be easier to target pests while reducing the chances of hurting bees, he said. The cost of the products won’t change significantly, Martin said.
It wasn’t immediately clear what effect Ortho’s decision would have on the health of the overall bee population. Neonics are used in a number of chemicals applied to food and textile crops such as corn and cotton as well as individual gardens.
The severity of the effects of neonics on bees appears to vary depending on what type of crops or plants they are used on, according to a study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California’s environmental agency that was released in January. Another study published last year showed neonics might hit wild bumblebees harder than domestically raised honeybees.
Bayer CropScience and Syngenta, the top manufacturers of neonics, have said the research has exaggerated the risks and understated the benefits.
Concern about bee health is growing. Last week, the Maryland General Assembly passed a bill that would allow only certified applicators, farmers and veterinarians to apply pesticides containing neonics. In March, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it would consider whether to protect two species of wild bumblebees under the Endangered Species Act amid declines in their numbers.
The environmental group Defenders of Wildlife, which asked the service to consider protecting the bees, said neonics were one a factor in the bees’ decline.
13 responses to “Ortho to drop chemicals linked to bee declines”
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Time to boycott Ortho products and others until they stop using neonics. No more Miracle-Gro in my yard.
IRT “The company plans to phase out neonicotinoids by 2021” … five years from now!!! Am I impressed … yesII am especially with how long it will take for them to do the right thing. If our government had any wisdom [And i am pretty sure at this point that it does not] they would out law all pesticides that harm bee populations. The bees are worth more to this planet [you & me] and the food we eat than some Corporation and the value of its stock/money. When will Monsanto get the buzz and smell the roses?
“When will Monsanto get the buzz and smell the roses?” When we OUTLAW their GMO and STOP PURCHASING their FRAKENFOODS! AND, their “ROSES” don’t “smell” because they are GENETICALLY ENGINEERED… NOTR: THE HAWAII DOE–has, repeatedly, allowed these same HOMICIDAL COMPANIES to LECTURE in the classrooms of a number of ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS–to PROMOTE their PROPOGANDA… WHY? (WHO’S PROFITING IN THIS STATE?)
Scotty: dial it back to warp 2.
Just as MULTIPLE COUNTRIES have banned the use of LETHAL-PROCUCTS manufactured by Ortho, Syngenta, DuPont, Bayer, Nestle, Monsanto, et al–HAWAII should outlaw all of these same LETHAL-PROCUCTS, and NO MORE GMO! HAWAII should be the “ORGANICALLY-GROWN” CAPITAL of THE WORLD (as “MOTHER NATURE” INTENDED..).
Buddy, you have been eating genetically modified foods for years without harm….. Oh wait. Now you are scaring me.
Are you 100% Sure we are not slowly coming down with S L O W Harm? some of the increase in sicknesses may show many years from now. Not all sicknesses show up immediately.
JUST “LABEL IT” (HONESTLY (NOT “FDA”)); OTHERWISE, I could care less what you believe or eat.
“PHASING OUT”? WHY NOT RECALLING THE PRODUCTS INSTANTLY?
Because, PAID-PROTAGANISTS like “Cellodad” and “PMINZ” PROFIT…
“Ortho is acting out of concern for possible threats to honeybees and other pollinators …” Acting out of concern for profits, not pollinators. If they truly cared it would be recalled and banned immediately.
This is really good news. In a very real sense, bees are responsible in a large part for our civilization.
What part of the advancement of human social development did your ancestors miss? (apparently, a “stable food supply”)…