Banned pesticides (2 Viewers)

[Andy Adcock]

Being exported by the UK and others.

Despite certain pesticides being illegal in the EU, their manufacture and export by member states is still legal, to countries where they are not banned, including the USA.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54093926

Not environmentally moral is it.

 

[Nutcracker]

Absolutely not!

What's even worse, they're all likely to be permitted in UK from next year :-C :storm:

 

[Andy Adcock]

Absolutely not!

What's even worse, they're all likely to be permitted in UK from next year :-C :storm:

Why?

Stop peddling this alarmist, rubbish.

 

[Nutcracker]

It's in the 2020 Agriculture Bill, reducing UK standards to those in USA to allow for open trade on agri products with USA and elsewhere. An amendment to retain EU standards on pesticide, hormone, etc., use was rejected by 51 votes (given the Con majority of 80, it means quite a few rebelled, but far from enough). Likely that the Lords will restore the amendment again, but also likely that the Commons will reject it again on the final reading.

 

[Andy Adcock]

It's in the 2020 Agriculture Bill, reducing UK standards to those in USA to allow for open trade on agri products with USA and elsewhere. An amendment to retain EU standards on pesticide, hormone, etc., use was rejected by 51 votes (given the Con majority of 80, it means quite a few rebelled, but far from enough). Likely that the Lords will restore the amendment again, but also likely that the Commons will reject it again on the final reading.

Would be suicidal to any Conservative aspirations of a second term.

 

[Nutcracker]

Would be suicidal to any Conservative aspirations of a second term.

Trouble is, they're verging on being a death cult now - elections aren't significant to them. And for those in the control seat, once they've made their fortunes from asset-stripping the country and selling out to (mainly US) corporations, they'll **** off to the Cayman Islands and not care any more about the wreckage they leave behind.

 

[Original PaulE]

Would be suicidal to any Conservative aspirations of a second term.

Conservatives could go into care homes and execute 1 in 10 of the residents and the other 9 would still vote for em! They have no worries with the opposition so weak, At the first sign they are mounting a challenge someone just has to say Anti-Semitism and they will spend the next 6 months tearing themselves to bits.

The fact that we are manufacturing and selling chemicals to foreign countries, that we consider to toxic to use on our own land, pretty much sums up what "Great Britain" has become ,money grabbing hypocrites!!

 

[Andy Adcock]

Conservatives could go into care homes and execute 1 in 10 of the residents and the other 9 would still vote for em! They have no worries with the opposition so weak, At the first sign they are mounting a challenge someone just has to say Anti-Semitism and they will spend the next 6 months tearing themselves to bits.

The fact that we are manufacturing and selling chemicals to foreign countries, that we consider to toxic to use on our own land, pretty much sums up what "Great Britain" has become ,money grabbing hypocrites!!

This is the size of it.

 

[Mysticete]

It's in the 2020 Agriculture Bill, reducing UK standards to those in USA to allow for open trade on agri products with USA and elsewhere. An amendment to retain EU standards on pesticide, hormone, etc., use was rejected by 51 votes (given the Con majority of 80, it means quite a few rebelled, but far from enough). Likely that the Lords will restore the amendment again, but also likely that the Commons will reject it again on the final reading.

I am not a Brit, but from over here it really looks like Boris is rolling the dice on Trump being elected office and carrying through on creating a good trade deal.

Problem here is:
1) Biden is pro-European Union and has a good shot at winning; there is a fair chance he will not be inclined to produce a favorable deal.

2) Trump is unreliable at best....He can SAY he will give the UK an awesome deal, but until the specifics are laid out I wouldn't bet on anything. It's just as likely as to never emerge or be a deal that will be harmful for UK interests.

3) There may be a fair share of political chaos in the near future (Hell there already is), so no matter who wins, I would imagine a UK trade deal might be pretty far down the list of priorities.

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

Absolutely not!

What's even worse, they're all likely to be permitted in UK from next year :-C :storm:

Just read on Twitter (so hopefully accurate) that neonicotinoids will not be allowed to be used in Wales. There’s an online petition calling for them not to be allowed in the UK as a whole.

Rich

 

[THE_FERN]

Just read on Twitter (so hopefully accurate) that neonicotinoids will not be allowed to be used in Wales. There’s an online petition calling for them not to be allowed in the UK as a whole.

Rich

My personal reason for us (UK) to stay in the EU had nothing to do with "sovereignty" or "economics". As someone who grew up under Thatcher, I often felt that only the EU was providing any protection for nature at all. Generally speaking, and in stark contrast to many other countries (migratory birds, anyone?), the UK generally took this legislation seriously. My big great worry on us leaving was that any protection would be lost. The initial signs were surprisingly positive. However, the recent neonics decision and other similar noises have raised the threat level again... (Of course, some of these things are devolved decisions now but recent decisions in Scotland show this isn't necessarily good.)

 

[citrinella]

As a Scottish farmer I see lots to comment on here :
Delighted the wildlife trusts are taking the government to court over the permits to use Neonics, hope they will win. We, in total ignorance, used them as a seed dressing on rape and then stopped using them when they were banned. In retrospect it looks like we saw a disastrous decline in insects even (especially) in wildflower margins and think we are now well into recovery, which only started a few years after we stopped using them.

Decisions taken in Scotland ? More like lack of decisions - no effort by our current Agriculture Minister to come up with a proper agri-environment scheme. They continue to wind down the previous scheme without any word of a replacement. Even that previous scheme was awful. I failed to join believing, among other things, it would prevent me doing such good conservation work. Scottish schemes were always behind English ones, never as good and never at all attractive to farmers.

On reflection I'll keep out of any Brexit/UK politics debate to keep my sanity.

Mike.

 

[Deb Burhinus]

The Wildlife Trust is urging people to sign their Petition

Help me reverse plans to allow bee-killing poisons

I believe #neonicotinoids have no place in a #wilderfuture, so I'm backing The Wildlife Trusts in calling on the Prime Minister to overturn the decision to allow bee-killing poisons on some farms. Please back the campaign too

action.wildlifetrusts.org

With thousands of acres of sugarbeet plantations in the rural countryside of Norfolk, the use of Neonics will be devastating to butterfly and bee populations in the county ☹️

 

[RafaelMatias]

A word from Butterfly Conservation:

Time to ban neonicotinoids for good

Neonicotinoid pesticides have once again made the headlines following a decision by the Government to allow the emergency use of the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam on sugar beet in England in 2021. Butterfly Conservation highlighted concerns about neonicotinoids as long ago as 2015 following a...

butterfly-conservation.org

 

[citrinella]

Thanks for putting up the petition, have signed. They ask you to contact your MP as well but I had already done that

Mike.

 

[THE_FERN]

Some good news...

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...-now-will-not-be-used-on-uk-sugar-beet-fields

 

[Deb Burhinus]

Some good news...

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...-now-will-not-be-used-on-uk-sugar-beet-fields

That’s fantastic news and a big relief for this year at least.

However, it’s been a wake up call that the Govt will resort to using this pesticide if particularly mild winters persist. Hopefully this has given some breathing space to build up even more evidence and political pressure to get these things banned once and for all.

I can’t believe nearly 60 years later, we are still contemplating that Rachael Carson’s dire warnings on the risks of indiscriminate pesticide use is still worth the price for ‘spotless’ vegetables - as Joni Mitchel said in Big Yellow Taxi;

Hey farmer, farmer put away that DDT now
Give me spots on my apples, but leave me the birds and the bees 🐝

 

[mnfriend]

Neonicotinoids have decimated bee and butterfly populations in the U.S. Any plant you buy in the States is doused in the crap. Also worth mentioning is an American public that seems obsessed with lawn chemical use for both insects and weeds. Many non-target species are wiped out in the process.

 

[StephenHampshire]

The Wildlife Trust is urging people to sign their Petition

Help me reverse plans to allow bee-killing poisons

I believe #neonicotinoids have no place in a #wilderfuture, so I'm backing The Wildlife Trusts in calling on the Prime Minister to overturn the decision to allow bee-killing poisons on some farms. Please back the campaign too

action.wildlifetrusts.org

With thousands of acres of sugarbeet plantations in the rural countryside of Norfolk, the use of Neonics will be devastating to butterfly and bee populations in the county ☹️

Petition signed and MP e-mailed, even though this year's bees may have been spared poisoning by the recent cold snap