Neonics, Bees & Food Security

The document highlights the ecological risks of neonicotinoid pesticides, noting their toxicity to insects, birds, and fish, and their potential to disrupt pollination services vital for food security. It details Ontario's efforts to reduce neonic-treated seed acreage and Health Canada's proposed phase-out of imidacloprid to protect aquatic environments.

• 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 to hazardous levels.
• The loss of animal pollinators like bees could significantly reduce global food supplies, specifically decreasing nuts and seeds by 22%, fruit by 23%, and vegetables by 16%. Such reductions are predicted to increase annual global deaths from nutrition-related and chronic diseases by 1.42 million people.
• Ontario implemented regulations in July 2015 to reduce the acreage of neonic-treated soybean or corn seed by 80% by 2017, targeting clothianidin, thiamethoxam, and imidacloprid. While usage dropped from 2014 levels to approximately 3 million acres in 2016 (a 24% reduction), the province remained far from its 80% target.

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} }