Bee Colony Collapse Disaster Was Not Caused by Bt Proteins
I found this entry on fellow biotech blogger Dr. C Kameswara Rao’s blog the FBAE blog. In the post, he discusses the disappearance of bee colonies supposedly due to Bt crops. Take a look at it below, and also click on the link and read other entries in the blog.
C.S. Prakash
Bee Colony Collapse Disaster Was Not Caused by Bt Proteins
FBAE Blog
January 10, 2008
C Kameswara Rao
Foundation for Biotechnology Awareness and Education, Bangalore, India
krao@vsnl.com, www.fbae.org, www.fbaeblog.org
http://www.fbae.org/Channels/Views/bee_colony_collapse_disaster_was.htm
Colony Collapse Disaster (CCD), the desertion and death of almost all the bees in a colony, occurs now and then, sometimes in epidemic proportions, in all countries resulting in 50 to 90 per cent losses. While several causes for CCD were identified, no specific reason or reliable remedies are known.
There was a collapse of Honey Bee colonies in the US and Europe in the middle of last year, causing enormous losses. The anti-Genetic Engineering (GE) activists were quick to attribute the CCD to the pollen of Bt crops, and used it vigorously in their campaign.
As there are several Bt transgenics in cultivation in the US, it is not odd to consider them as one of probable causes of the CCD. But in the case of the EU countries and elsewhere that argument is absurd, as there is a distinct lack of Bt pollen in the environment.
Poisoning by agricultural chemicals, unusually higher than normal winter damage and natural age dependent colony degeneration, are often confused with CCD.
A detailed write up by Christian Evans in News Target (March 2007) analyzed the various possible causes for last year’s bee colony disaster and considered that the heavy chemical inputs in modern agricultural practices as responsible for the problem.
