Representatives from Syngenta and Bayer CropScience were questioned by the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee last week as it seeks to establish whether the UK should follow other European countries in banning or restricting neonicotinoid insecticides. But Syngenta, which makes the systemic insecticide Thiamethoxam, is unhappy at the committee's approach. Head of public affairs Luke Gibbs told Grower it had been established to consider a single variable - the action of insecticides on pollinating insects - when the problem of pollinator decline is "multi-variable", he said. "They will only look at a narrow range of scientific papers. But the real threats to bees are the Varroa mite and habitat loss. Focusing only on pesticides could lead to recommendations that are not balanced." Gibbs added that the inquiry "has inevitably attracted groups that are ideologically opposed to pesticide use", and he noted: "Several of the committee, such as Caroline Lucas, Zac Goldsmith and Martin Caton, have a long-stated public position on this."
Source: Horticulture Week, 6 December 2012
http://www.hortweek.com/news/1162850/syngenta-questions-committee-appro…
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