Bess Are Slowly Declining; Humans Add More Problems While Using Pesticides; Study Found That Honey Are Contaminated
Honey is one of the most consumed products in the United States alone. Recently, bad news happened to the famous pollinators. It has been reported the world is contaminated with potent pesticides known to harm the bees. The global exposure of the vital pollinators happened for the first time.
In the recent reports, around 200 samples of honey were analyzed for the neonicotinoid insecticides. They have found that 75% of the honey contained chemicals with most contaminated with multiple types. Bees are known to travel over many kilometers to collect pollen and nectars. They then make the honey. Thus, they are the best indicator of pesticide pollution.
As follows, bees and other pollinators are vital to the three-quarters if the world's food crops. Unfortunately, the little pollinators have a serious decline in the recent years. The destruction of the wild habitats, widespread pesticide, and widespread use are all important factors.
In line, the honey analysis that has been published in the journal Science began as a citizen science project when the researchers at the Botanical Garden of Neuchâtel, Switzerland asked people to donate honey collected around the world. The ranging years will be on 2012 up to 2016. They have received hundreds of samples and analyzed 198 of it that the origin is known for the five main types of neonicotinoid, according to the Guardian.
As a result, the contamination rates, the North America got the highest. 86% of their samples contain one or more neonicotinoid. It is followed by Asia with 80% and Europe 79%. The lowest goes to South America with 57%. They revealed that almost half of the samples contained a cocktail of the insecticides.
Prof Edward Mitchell from the University of Neuchâtel said that "The striking finding is that 75% of our samples had measurable quantities. That was surprising to us, since our coverage included many remote areas, including oceanic islands," according to Phys.Org.
Meanwhile, the new analysis joins a growing number of highly critical reports on pesticides. In their study, the researchers showed most of the farmers could slash their pesticides use without experiencing loss. The UN report the denounced the "myth" that pesticides are necessary to feed the world. Also, the UK chief government scientist stating the assumption by the regulators it is safe to use pesticides at the industrial sales across the landscape is false.
