Hello David & All,

David asked:
> After reading some of the information on all the different pesticide 
> residue found so far in the bee hive, I am wondering if any of the deep 
> thinkers have looked very closely at what residues are in the fruit and 
> vegatables we are eating.

As a small fruit grower and a grower which grew organically for around 
thirteen years I asked the same question. The last 17 years I have used IPM 
and usually 1-2 sprays in early spring. I usually spray a spray which says 
you can eat the fruit the next day ( like spectricide) and cut the spray 
(per label) in half with water( which is legal).

other factors are used also such as disease resistant varities and only 
organic compost I make myself. Strong trees are essential. Better stop now 
as I love to talk trees.

I can honestly say that before the new neonicotinoids came on the scene 
(imidacloprid in 1994 in U.S. registered by Bayer) the sprays used on most 
crops posed only a slight risk to the consumer. I attended for many years 
the Missouri fruit conventions although I was very small scale ( still are 
with around 60+ production trees) but was asked to speak many times on 
pollination. We had a medical doctor( and grower with hundreds of trees) in 
our group. He did quite a bit of testing on fruit as far as the levels of 
pesticides when sent to the consumer. I learned quite a bit from his 
presentations. In apples he said only the skin had dectectable pesticides 
and when applied according to label well within the range considered of no 
risk to humans. He went on to comment as Jerry B. has about the pesticides 
we are exposed to everyday in the environment and felt there was little risk 
back then to the consumer from current pesticide sprays.

 He was concerned about the risk to pesticide applicators and explained how 
dangerous application was. He had a new John Deere tractor with a cab and 
air filter system to protect the sprayer he showed us on one of the tours of 
his operation I attended. He felt current regulations on spray protection 
were lacking and spraying of chemicals were a big risk to the applicator. He 
quoted many times figures on health problems of workers involved with the 
spraying of chemicals and said many could be avioded if the industry had 
better protection for people applying pesticides.

> I would think that if the bees are getting some of this from pollen,some 
> of it in low levels would be in the end product( fruit or veggie).Anyone 
> know of any studies on this ?

Glad you asked David.

I did the article no author of bee articles wanted to touch. An article on 
the new systemic pesticides (neonicotinoids) and will be published in the 
April American Bee Journal. I had to be very careful on wording. The big 
issue is that the chemical companies have quietly converted most of our 
pesticides to systemic over the last six years. Plenty of cases around of 
problems from systemic pesticides of the past . I did use one example in my 
article of one of the first attempts by a chemical company using a systemic 
pesticide (temik on citrus) and why the product was banned for use on 
citrus.

Here is a documented case I wanted to use in my article but didn't: The 
reason I did not is that all I am trying to do is make the public aware. 
Make beekeepers aware. Systemic pesticides are so scary most people can only 
take a small dose at a time! Also its easier to prove a point by bringing up 
past documented problems with systemic to prove a point rather than try to 
point the finger at the new systemic which are so new we really know little 
about what problems they are currently causing .


I will use the watered down Wikipedia version of things which all can easily 
check:

"Temik is a pesticide ,the active ingredient of which is aldicarb. The 
effectiveness of temik depends on systemic activity. It is now owned & 
MANUFACTURED by Bayer Crop Science ( which also registered the systemic 
pesticide imidacloprid in U.S. in 1994 ), but was formally owned and 
produced by Union Carbide."

"In the summer of 1985 nearly 100 people in the western U.S. & Canada were 
poisoned by residues of temik in watermelons"

How dangerous is temik?

from some research I found.

" one teaspoon of temik is enough to kill a grown Rhino. This substance is 
more poisonous than arsenic"

From a northern beekeeper not wanting to provide his name when questioned 
about temik:

He said he could put a teaspoon of temik on meat to kill a bear and the bear 
would be found dead a short distance from the hives.

temik was finally banned in the U.K. in 2007.

So to answer your question David.

My *OPINION* based on my research doing the article for ABJ is that the new 
neonicotinoids with be found in fruits and veggies. First in PPB, then PPM, 
Then we will see poisonings similar to those with temik. However I am only a 
beekeeper and not a chemist. I will say I have passed on some documented 
temik research into chemical company circles so maybe the companies will 
police themselves. The neonicotinoid train is full speed with over 190 brand 
names. Slowing the train needed to have been done a decade ago with a wait 
and see policy in my opinion. I hope I am wrong in my *OPINION*.

Why has not the health food crowd protested the use of systemic pesticides? 
I approached a local health food store owner and she did never heard of 
systemic pesticides. Imidacloprid is the new chemical of choice for treated 
wood (leaching into ground water?) and the new treatment for termites in 
Florida (leaching into Florida water supplies with a 14 foot average water 
table?).

Sincerely,
Bob Harrison 


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