New research convinces UK government to ban insecticides containing neonicotinoids.
UK Environment Secretary Michael Gove announced that the country will be supporting the banning of insect-harming pesticides in fields all over Europe.
Neonicotinoids, the most widely used insecticide in the world, was banned in 2013 by the European Union, but the UK did not agree with this ban at the time. With recent studies showing how harmful these insecticides are to fields and colonies of bees, and also with the revelation that 75% of flying insects vanished in Germany (therefore, likely damaging our ecosystem), Gove is now keen to have the UK support the neonicotinoid ban.
“The weight of evidence now shows the risks neonicotinoids pose to our environment, particularly to the bees and other pollinators which play such a key part in our £100bn food industry, is greater than previously understood,” said Gove. “I believe this justifies further restrictions on their use. We cannot afford to put our pollinator populations at risk.”
Gove also said that a”a deteriorating environment is ultimately bad economic news as well,” citing that pollinators improve the quality of UK crops by £400m-£680m every year.
To read the original story, click here.
