Federal Pollinator Policy May Threaten Honeybee Health

As the president’s Pollinator Health Task Force is poised to release its National Pollinator Health Strategy this spring, Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) Senior Fellow Angela Logomasini, Ph.D., cuts through the alarmism and misinformation that is driving the debate about honeybee hive health in a paper released today, “’Beepocalypse’ Not.” Logomasini shows that potential bans and restrictions on a class of pesticides called neonicotinoids will do more harm than good for honeybees as more toxic chemicals will likely replace neonicotinoids.

Unfortunately, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) appears to already be moving in the wrong direction with its recent decision to limit new uses of neonicotinoids.

Logomasini said:

“The alarmism over pesticides, particularly neonicotinoids, has diverted our attention from the more significant challenges to bee hive health, such as diseases and nutritional deficiencies among commercially farmed honeybees. As a result, too much focus is placed on regulatory solutions that would restrict access to valuable crop protection products.

“Honeybee health issues can and will be managed largely by beekeepers themselves along with some collaboration with farmers and even home gardeners. But we won’t reach such solutions if we focus on the wrong issues.

“The best solutions will strike a balance that recognizes the value of targeted and managed use of agrochemicals and minimizes any impact on commercially farmed honeybees and wildlife. Such policies can only be pursued when we dispense with misinformed alarmism and focus on science-based solutions and productive collaboration.”

View the paper “’Beepocalypse’ Not” here.