Honey bee boo boo?
There is a lot of concern about the decline in bee colonies. As most people know, if there are no bees, then many crops will suffer as they need the bees to pollinate them.
Wenfu Mao, Mary A. Schuler, and May R. Berenbaum, from the University of Illinois, recently published in PNAS that feeding high fructose corn syrup, as honey is taken away from bees, might be contributing to Colony Collapse Disorder. Since the 70s, corn syrup has been given to bees in colonies as their honey is harvested from them. Mao et al found that the bees immune system was stronger when exposed to p-coumaric, an enzyme that turns on detoxification genes. It’s found in pollen walls.
Reference:
Researchers find high-fructose corn syrup may be tied to worldwide collapse of bee colonies
http://goo.gl/mLWNz via physorg
What about pesticides?
Most of the focus has been on neonicotinoids, which are a class of neuro-active insecticides chemically related to nicotine. Pyrethroid is a compound used in commercial insecticides that is similar to pyrethrum, which is the active ingredient in Chrysanthemum flowers. Chrysanthemum flowers were used to kill lice for centuries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrethroid
In this article by Frazier et al, they explain how neonicotinoids aren’t the sole problem. The amount of neonicotinoids found does not add up.
This is in contrast to pyrethroids which were found in 79.4% of samples at 36-times higher amounts than the neonicotinoids, on average.
Pesticides and Their Involvement in Colony Collapse Disorder
Here’s another article that explains more about neonicotinoids.
Neonicotinoid Seed Treatments and Honey Bee Health
Here’s a good site for bee info:
http://www.extension.org/bee_health
Image source: http://goo.gl/dXckv
#ScienceSunday
June 9, 2013
Good piece, Chad Haney (damn corn syrup messing up more than sweetened drinks, it seems…)
June 9, 2013
William McGarvey maybe put a call in with Bloomberg.
June 10, 2013
Or learn to be a beekeeper. Rather than just talking about it.. how about doing something to save them?
June 10, 2013
I’m a beekeeper, and have been doing it with my older brother for 8 years. Its hard, but worth it. 🙂
June 10, 2013
We just extracted yesterday and pulled almost 9 gallons.. not too bad off 2 hives.
June 10, 2013
Wow, nice! Ryan Willett I’m looking at extracting in another couple weeks. Probably pull 4-6 supers.
June 10, 2013
How about not being rude, Ryan Willett?
Being a beekeeper isn’t practical for everyone. So hats off to Paul Exley and his brother. If I were a beekeeper, I could choose to not give corn syrup to the colony. How could I prevent them from being exposed to pesticides considering their range?
From the article linked above, Pesticides and Their Involvement in Colony Collapse Disorder
The average foraging range of a single colony is thought to be a 3.75 mile radius most of the time with trips up to 6.75 miles in times of great need (Figure 4).
June 10, 2013
Humans who are fed by feeding tubes containing corn syrup have a life expectancy of less than 20/30 days, If it is full of GMO’s ……… Please dont feed it to the bee’s !
June 10, 2013
Ellim Sluouf do you have any reference to peer reviewed data or is that just your opinion?
June 10, 2013
I read it just yesterday and am searching for the article now.
June 10, 2013
This is one article , there was another medical one am searching for I also read
http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/sick-patients-are-pumped-full-feed-tube-formula-corn-syrup-thats-produced-nestle
June 10, 2013
http://www.activistpost.com/2013/06/hfcs-food-for-bees-found-to-increase.html
Just found this on my travels……..
June 10, 2013
I really only know what I know in relation to humans, I love buzzies : ) and they are so much smaller than humans , it stands to reason it is as bad if not worse for the buzzies.
June 10, 2013
Ellim Sluouf the alternet.org article is not peer reviewed. The second link is based on the same PNAS paper I linked above and it does not mention GMOs.
June 10, 2013
A study released on Monday shows that cheaper honey substitutes such as high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and sugar (made from genetically modified sugar beets)
June 10, 2013
Most corn is GMO
June 10, 2013
I am only trying to be a HELP !! I have not fed that shit to my kids for many a year …. why you would feed bees on it is beyond me but hey they are your bees …………. I’m DONE
June 10, 2013
I’m glad you are done Ellim Sluouf because I don’t see any references to your claim that most corn is GMO. Although the authors have shown that giving corn syrup to bees is bad for specific reasons, i.e., it does not stimulate an immune response to toxins such as pesticides, corn syrup isn’t a toxin that should be avoided by humans.
In this article, http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/high-fructose-corn-syrup/
there are 15 references, it’s not just my opinion.
June 10, 2013
http://www.naturalhealth365.com/nutrition_news/dangerous-chemicals.html
June 10, 2013
A study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry claimed; when HFCS is heated it forms toxic substances such as hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Several products with HFCS were tested by an agricultural research group which found this toxic chemical and discovered that HMF breaks down into other substances even more deadly.
June 10, 2013
I thought you were done, Ellim Sluouf? Did you know if you heat many things you can get toxic chemicals from them?
June 10, 2013
http://phys.org/news/2013-04-high-fructose-corn-syrup-tied-worldwide.html
June 10, 2013
Ellim Sluouf congratulations, you found two articles about the same PNAS article, including the Phys.org one I linked to above. I still don’t see any proof of GMO in corn syrup.
June 10, 2013
Many bee-keepers have turned to high-fructose corn syrup to feed their bees. High-fructose corn syrup is made from Monsanto’s genetically engineered corn and that corn is treated with Bayer’s neonicotinoid insecticides.
http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=8662
June 10, 2013
Ellim Sluouf you are going in circle, crop circles maybe. I’m going back to my research. I’ll check back later to see if you can find peer reviewed data to support your claim.
June 10, 2013
By 2012, 88 percent of corn (maize) and 94 percent of soy grown in the United States were genetically modified, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-06-gmo-corn-soybeans-dominate.html#jCp
I would say if 88% of American corn is GMO then there is a fairly high chance that the syrup is likely to be gmo
June 10, 2013
I wonder what you think Doodle Maier
June 10, 2013
Doodle Maier Thanks , I just thought it wise considering all the poor bee’s are up against at this moment in time.
June 10, 2013
Doodle Maier has honey been proven safe?
June 11, 2013
Ellim Sluouf thanks for the Phys.org link to GMO corn and soy beans. However, you still haven’t shown that corn syrup full of GMOs gives people a life expectancy of 20/30 days on a feeding tube.
Doodle Maier that was actually a rhetorical question as you can’t really prove something to be safe. You can prove something to be unsafe.
Alan McHughen pointed me to a study from Institute of Medicine and National Research Council of the National Academies
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10977&page=R1
where it states: To date, no adverse health effects attributed to genetic engineering have been documented in the human population.
and from Richard Smith,
There are hundreds of GMO safety-related studies conducted by independent scientists. I think there are several key things to learn from the literature:
1. There is no route by which GMOs in general could cause toxicity that doesn’t already exist in conventionally bred crops. Each new technology needs to be assessed on its own terms.
2. The classic thing people are worried about is allergens being created, but changes to the proteins produced by crops are much more predictable in GMOs than in conventionally bred crops. It has been shown many times over using metabolomic and proteomic studies that the targeted modifications in GMOs are less likely to produce unwanted protein alterations, which is how allergens are created. There are many examples here: http://www.biofortified.org/genera/studies-for-genera/independent-funding/
3. Every new GM crop undergoes safety testing in every territory where it is released. Compare that to conventionally-bred crops, which never do (except potatoes, because they are prone to high solanoid toxin concentrations in the skin). The results of those safety tests are generally made public on the relevant regulatory agency websites. Here is the EFSA testing scheme: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/2150.htm. And here is the EFSA data release for Monsanto’s submission of NK603 (Roundup-Ready) maize: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/130114.htm.
There are no clinical trials on GMOs, because they aren’t pharmaceuticals or even remotely comparable to them, so there are no double-blind studies. But the safety and efficacy of GMOs has been demonstrated in ways more appropriate for food products. The biofortified GENERA database I linked above is a good resource if you’re struggling to find things through Scholar.
June 11, 2013
Not sure why you would feed your bee’s nutritionally dead food any how
http://naturalsociety.com/analysis-monsanto-gm-corn-nutritionally-dead-toxic/
June 11, 2013
http://independentsciencenews.org/science-media/the-goodman-affair-monsanto-targets-the-heart-of-science/
Excerpt :
This directly affects the quality of the science produced. A recent literature review found that most studies concluding that GM foods are as safe as non-GM counterparts were performed by the developer companies or their associates (Domingo and Bordonaba, 2011). It is no coincidence that Norway, a country without an agricultural industry lobby, hosts the only publicly funded institute in the world with a mission to conduct research on the environmental, health and social consequences of genetic engineering.
June 11, 2013
Ellim Sluouf it’s too bad you said you were done and you didn’t keep your word. Your nutritionally dead food link is not peer reviewed. The study referred to in your second link has been thoroughly trashed as bad science by myself, Alan McHughen, Richard Smith, and others.
Bad science → bad headlines
http://goo.gl/epcnr
I have to go back to my research I hope you keep your word this time and are done with your conspiracy theory supporting links.
Here are a couple of posts about anti-GMO.
Science-Based Medicine » Antivaccine versus anti-GMO: Different goals, same methods
http://goo.gl/mQmL8 via David Tribe
GMO Technology and a Safer Spud
http://goo.gl/fPIzj via Kevin Folta
June 11, 2013
Hahaha ya so many people agree with what kevin has to say LOL NOT !
June 11, 2013
I do not associate with people who are cruel to animals, whether intentionally or through stupidity. Totally done now.
June 11, 2013
Ellim Sluouf who said anything about being cruel to animals? I’m against cruelty against animals.
External technology says the person typing on a computer. It’s not about trusting people. Science is about data: controlled studies with peer review.
June 11, 2013
Doodle Maier Go Bee Boy : )
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June 11, 2013
Ellim Sluouf, laughing like a drain? I don’t even know what that means.
Doodle Maier the problem is that I have been sending telepathic messages but you forgot to take your tinfoil hat off. If either of you would stay on topic and focus on peer reviewed articles, I’d have a chance to educate you. I have no idea what level of education either of you have as Ellim’s profiles is blank and Doodle’s is nearly blank. Why don’t you take your conspiracy theories and entertain each other elsewhere since you clearly are not interested in learning anything here.
June 12, 2013
Clearly as there is nothing to learn,,,,,,,,
http://ecowatch.com/2013/worldwide-honey-bee-collapse-a-lesson-in-ecology/
June 12, 2013
http://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stories/more-than-honey-a-film-to-fuel-the-fight-to-save-bees
June 12, 2013
Enough of your big ag conspiracy rubish.
June 14, 2013
Doodle Maier I’m curious about your evidence that science is “co-opted to be more about profits and controlling data”. You may realize that your claim is quite insulting to the tens of thousands of independent public academic scientists like me that take a pay cut and work constantly in a low-funding environment– for YOU. That’s the truth. If any of this stuff was dangerous we’d find it, report it, and gain huge notoriety and grants forever. We’d open a new area of research. It just isn’t there.
None of us will flush 30 years of training and education down the drain for some damn company. We don’t falsify data. It is an instant career ender.
The bee study in PNAS says only one thing. That compounds in honey, esp p-coumaric acid, changes gene expression of a set of genes that could potentially confer healthful benefits to bees. There is no further evidence, no test, but it does set up a hypothesis that could be tested. If it is true, then adding p-coumaric acid to corn syrup should restore normal colony health.
The scientific consensus shows NO link to GMO derived products. None. There are strong links to mites, protists and viruses, along with an overlay from certain pesticides. These are the real problems.
Don’t let anti-biotech activists misdirect you from the real problem.
June 14, 2013
Thanks Kevin Folta I hope some people will stop and realize how insulting these conspiracy theories are.