Neonics, Bees & Food Security

This briefing by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) examines the ecological and public health risks associated with neonicotinoid pesticides, focusing on their impact on pollinators and food security, and details regulatory responses in Ontario and by Health Canada.

• A review of over 1,100 peer-reviewed articles by the Task Force on Systemic Pesticides found that neonicotinoids are extremely toxic to most crustaceans, spiders, and insects, and moderately toxic to fish and birds. These pesticides are water soluble and persistent, allowing them to leach into ground water and accumulate in soil. In bees, they are associated with increased mortality, reduced fecundity, impaired learning, and higher susceptibility to disease.
• The total loss of animal pollinators, such as bees, is estimated to reduce global supplies of fruits by 23%, nuts and seeds by 22%, and vegetables by 16%. Such a decrease in food supplies could lead to an annual increase in global deaths from nutrition-related and chronic diseases by 1.42 million people.
• In July 2015, Ontario became the first North American jurisdiction to restrict neonicotinoids, specifically targeting clothianidin, thiamethoxam, and imidacloprid. The regulations aimed for an 80% reduction in acres planted with neonic-treated soybean or corn seed by 2017. Data from 2016 shows that treated seeds were used on approximately 3 million acres, a reduction of nearly 1 million acres from 2014 levels (approximately 24%).
• Health Canada proposed a decision in November 2016 to phase out the majority of outdoor and all agricultural uses of the pesticide imidacloprid over a period of three to five years. This proposal followed findings that the pesticide reaches levels in aquatic environments that harm aquatic insects, which serve as food for birds, fish, and other animals.

APA

Perrotta, K. (2017). Neonics, Bees & Food Security. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. https://cape.ca/neonics-its-bigger-than-the-bees/

Chicago

Perrotta, Kim. Neonics, Bees & Food Security. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, 2017. https://cape.ca/neonics-its-bigger-than-the-bees/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Perrotta |first1=Kim |title=Neonics, Bees & Food Security |publisher=Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment |date=23 February 2017 |url=https://cape.ca/neonics-its-bigger-than-the-bees/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{perrotta2017neonics, author = {Perrotta, Kim}, title = {{Neonics, Bees \& Food Security}}, institution = {Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}, year = {2017}, month = feb, url = {https://cape.ca/neonics-its-bigger-than-the-bees/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }