I certainly would not defend the Harvard Study. But Jerry's post brings up
an interesting point:
Even a cursory review would have revealed that: 1) Very little corn seed
> in the US is treated with imidacloprid (estimated at less than 1/2 of 1%),
>
NOW. But before a much larger amount was treated with imidacloprid before
they switched to clothianidin. What was the percentage treated with
imidacloprid four years ago?
Virtually ALL the corn seed today is treated with clothianidin. So, it
would be interesting to know if any makes it through the HFCS processing.
Probably not, and I hope not because I feed HFCS sometimes, but it would be
good to know. When I did contact CASCO, my HFCS supplier several years ago
and asked if they tested for imidacloprid (that was before clothianidin),
they said they did not and never had.
> 3) HFCS is made from milled corn kernels, not corn pollen, nor
> guatation droplets; and FDA monitors pesticides in corn meal (since you
> and I
> also consume corn) with no reports of any problems with imidacloprid,
The fact that you and I consume corn is completely irrelevant. The
allowable residue of imidacloprid in tomato paste is 1,000 ppb so it would
be totally toxic to bees. You and I do not have the same nervous system
targets that insects have which is the good thing about neonicotinoids (if
you are not a bee). If you wish to post a relevant fact Jerry, it would be
what is the allowable residue of imidacloprid or clothianidin in corn. I
know in potatoes and tomatoes it is high, and I suspect it is also high in
corn.
> and 4)
> the process whereby HFCS is made from milled corn would destroy
> imidacloprid, if any, in the early steps of making the product.
>
I hope so, but I would like to know what part of the processing does that,
and why the company I deal with does not test to make sure (regarding
clothianidin now, which is what we should be talking about). The price
difference between cane sugar and HFCS is not so high anymore, so I have
started doing my major feeding with cane, but I have to take a tankerload,
whereas I can get a few totes of HFCS from the railyard which is convenient.
Stan
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