Vanishing of the bees - review

[Rosti]

Went along to the screening in York tonight.

Positives:
Italian meal pre-flicks was very nice
Pironi nicely chilled

sorry ....

Good turnout 1/2 full cinema, perhaps 125 people.
40 mins debate session afterwards
Reps from Co-op and Bug Life (charity) present
Started to get some useful points come through on life cycle pesticide impact
NeoNic sub lethal impact high lighted, studies on sun flowers quoted
Varroa, nosemia, viruses regarded as secondary contributor
Showed impact of more direct political approaches in France and Germany (more detail than the BBC prog)

Negatives
A very high proportion of the footage seemed to be very similar to the 'who killed the honey bee' material.
Very little UK footage and UK impact/context information

Disappointments
BugLife reps not that well informed - broad spectrum charity so understandable?
Given CSL are based at York it was disappointing they could not rustle up a speaker for the debate (they were invited)

Suprises
BugLife not fully supportive of an expanding beek base (or these speakers weren't anyway) - because the HBs could out compete other natural pollinators but they want more natural 'meadows' planted. Didn't dispute the comment so as not to de-rail the evening but it occurs to me ...
Want more meadows, meadows need pollination, natural pollinators in steep decline, HBs pollinate meadow plants, habitat established and re-expanded, natural pollinators can recover population, 70% of foods require pollination, beeks a self funding (free) national resource for food production and flora diversity / protection. Why wouldn't BugLife be in favour?

No real comments on how / when / whether government are planning to impose full insect life cycle, standard blue print pesticide evaluation models on the chemical industry or even if this is being considered? If the chemical producers complete and fund the approval testing then surely there must atleast be an independently imposed scope and SOP in place to allow peer review and impact comparison?

Oh and breaking news ... Bayer were invited to participate but chose not to!

 

[Widdershins]

Thanks for that Rosti, its a good write up!

Hmm, funny how Bayer declined, eh?

 

[shonabee]

I saw it on Tuesday: 75 seat cinema, was sold out. I agree with Rosti, a lot of the footage was lifted directly from, or very similar to "Who killed the honeybee?" but with a stronger anti-pesticide slant.

I can partially see the point Rosti's "BugLife" rep raises re: bumblebees etc, there seems to be very little about their importance and their incredibly fragile state in the UK. However I thought that bumbles exploited a greater range of flowers than honey bees do - longer tongues? A

 

[Finman]

I
can partially see the point Rosti's "BugLife" rep raises re: bumblebees etc, there seems to be very little about their importance and their incredibly fragile state in the UK.

2 years ago we had wet and cold June. Allmost all bumbblebees vanished before August. Next summer they were few.

In this year summer they were so numerous that they ate nectars from bees.
I suppose that they migrated from Russia to us via winds.

We have wrote here too that bees are vanishing but it is only mimicing US news.

 

[Melbourne12]

It's a silly and irritating film.

They're papering the house in Manchester, if anyone really wants to see it. https://www.co-operativememberevents.coop/coop_bees_event/our_events_bees.aspx

 

[jezd]

Watched a screening last night, the second half was better than first, the entire film is probably only 50% new footage but it did a fair job as an update on previous TV films.

Towards the end the conclusions seemed similar to many, this is not a bee issue but a farming/food issue – it focussed on the USA again but this seems to highlight contradictions in the film. Its easy to find faults with the way the USA bee industry operates but in reality this adds zero value as the same issues are found worldwide with others that don’t operate in the same way.

Having seem this film I must admit I lean towards the pollen and pesticide worries but I find it bizarre that real science has not been done on this aspect.

The story goes on...

 

[Brosville]

"I find it bizarre that real science has not been done on this aspect"
- I don't - follow the money, and the influence it buys..............there is no money in proving this and innumerable similar travesties - those who govern us are "incentivised" and lobbied constantly by the (ir)responsible corporations, who are also influencing every part of the legislative and enforcement agencies who are there to "protect" us........... they would also appear to have undue power in even tinpot self-appointed "national" minority associations.........
.........snowballs and hell spring to mind.........

 

[jezd]

"I find it bizarre that real science has not been done on this aspect"
- I don't - follow the money, and the influence it buys..............there is no money in proving this and innumerable similar travesties - those who govern us are "incentivised" and lobbied constantly by the (ir)responsible corporations, who are also influencing every part of the legislative and enforcement agencies who are there to "protect" us........... they would also appear to have undue power in even tinpot self-appointed "national" minority associations.........
.........snowballs and hell spring to mind.........

dont buy that, the drivers to find the cause(s) for these growing problems are huge - and we are not talking about corps either

 

[Brosville]

but that's the whole point - to an agrochemical company also selling Bumbles - it could be entirely beneficial from a marketing point of view to "optimise the market" by allowing existing chemicals to kill off the rivals to that product...........surprised one of the major agrochemical conglomerates isn't doing it already..........

 

[Rosti]

UPDATE on Co-op Plan Bee

Half time speaker at York and District BKA AGM was from Co-op, gave more detail on plan Bee. Co-op have set aside £150k for bee research which is commendable, also re-stated their case for NeoNic ban.

Of more immediate interest is that Co-op farms (of which there are many around the UK) are tending to move from arable toward veg farming as they attempt to locally source veg to their stores. This means an improving forage and the Co-op are positively encouraging Beeks to approach them with a view to placing hives on their land. No opportunity close enough to me but there may be for you? Worth investigating in your locality. R