If you’ve been following every posting for months you’ll know that on 21st December 2018 I told a story I’m about to revisit because it bears on another news story today. To be honest my original piece had very few readers. I generally try not to get preachy but today it was reported that in the UK pollinating insects had diminished by 25%
There’s clearly something wrong and if you thought that the main suspects – neonicotinoids – had been completely banned in the UK you’d be mistaken. Here’s the DEFRA information from just over a year ago:
Further restrictions on neonicotinoid pesticides have been approved following a vote by EU member states today.
The UK voted in favour of the proposals that will see a ban on outdoor use of three neonicotinoids – Clothianidin, Imidacloprid and Thiamethoxam.
Currently, their use is banned for oilseed rape, spring cereals and sprays for winter cereals, but they can be used to treat sugar beet, various horticultural crops and as seed treatments for winter cereals.
What the press release also goes on is to say that there are exceptional variations available …. etc etc. So it’s good news that the use of these pesticides has been reduced but it’s simply not true that they’re completely banned. Of course the reason for the decline of wildlife in general is complex, but agricultural practices have to be a part of the problem. I spend much of my time defending farmers, and the way they’ve been squeezed between a rock and a hard place is nothing short of shameful, but there’s no prospect that the sowing of wildflower meadow mix in suburban gardens and allotments is going to reverse this decline. DEFRA admits that the value of insects as pollinators exceeds half billion pounds a year. If the UK leaves the European Community and abolishes even these limited restrictions, many of these precious pollinators may well disappear altogether. I’ve seen maize seed treated with neonictinoids it’s bright blue and it’s so toxic you have to protect your skin from contact.
Biodiversity isn’t just an economic issue, it’s a spiritual issue, an aesthetic issue and a moral issue as well. Last night we watched the news on television with increasing dismay and we talked about The Potwell Inn and our little allotment which sometimes feel like they hold the key to the future. Should we engage or withdraw? All I know is that I can remember the exact moment I photographed each one of the beasties at the top of the page and my life would have been all the poorer without them.
So maybe we should adopt a Benedictine saying. As you enter the chapel in the monastery you read the words “To pray is to work” and when you leave the chapel to carry out your daily work – possibly in the garden – you read “To work is to pray”. Can’t argue with that, even if I never quite know if anyone’s listening.
Well done! I’m continually appalled that neonicotinoids are still used in many soil mixes in commercial greenhouse operations that produce plants such as buddleia and many other perennials marketed as “pollinator plants!” Unsuspecting gardeners with great intentions are filling their pollinator gardens with plants that will poison any insect that visits. Although there are restrictions, there are no follow-up inspections or testing, so it’s an “honor system” that is often disregarded.
Totally agree – and farmers + horticulturalists are under such pressure to turn a profit that corners get cut all the time. Each person who bends the rules is able to think that they’re not making much difference, but the exceptions stack up and without anyone directly intending to cause harm, terrible harm gets done.