DOCUMENT D’INFORMATION : Les néonicotinoïdes, les abeilles domestiques et la sécurité alimentaire

The document examines the systemic nature of neonicotinoids and their toxicity to arthropods and vertebrates, linking them to honeybee colony losses in Canada and biodiversity decline in Europe. It highlights the economic importance of pollinators in Ontario and Quebec and argues that the widespread use of these pesticides often provides negligible agricultural benefits while threatening human nutrition and global food security.

• Neonicotinoids are systemic pesticides that spread throughout a plant's tissues, including pollen and nectar, and are currently the most widely used pesticides globally, accounting for over 25% of the global market share.
• A multidisciplinary review of 1,121 peer-reviewed studies found that neonicotinoids and fipronil are extremely toxic to most arthropods, toxic to vertebrates like fish and birds, and persist in soil and water runoff.
• In Canada, winter honeybee colony losses have increased from a historical average of 10-15% to 29% over the last nine years, with Ontario reporting losses of 58% in winter 2013 and 38% in winter 2014.
• Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) concluded that neonicotinoid exposure contributed to abnormally high honeybee mortality rates observed near corn and soy fields in southern Ontario, Quebec, and Manitoba.
• The economic value of pollination in Ontario is significant, with honeybees and bumblebees pollinating crops worth approximately 897 million dollars annually, representing about 13% of the province's total crop value.
• Agricultural use of neonicotinoids is widespread in Ontario and Quebec; nearly all corn seeds and 65% of soy seeds in Ontario, and nearly all corn seeds and 35-50% of soy seeds in Quebec, are treated.
• A Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health study estimated that the total disappearance of pollinators would cause global production of fruits to drop by 23%, vegetables by 16%, and nuts and seeds by 22%, potentially increasing annual deaths from chronic and nutritional diseases by 1.42 million.
• Evidence from the US EPA and CÉROM suggests that systemic neonicotinoid seed treatments often provide negligible benefits to soybean production and do not significantly increase corn yields, even with low pest presence.

APA

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (2016). DOCUMENT D’INFORMATION : Les néonicotinoïdes, les abeilles domestiques et la sécurité alimentaire. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/3.Document-d%E2%80%99information-%E2%80%93-Les-ne%CC%81onicotinoi%CC%88des-les-abeilles-domestiques-et-la-se%CC%81curite%CC%81-alimentaire.pdf

Chicago

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. DOCUMENT D’INFORMATION : Les néonicotinoïdes, les abeilles domestiques et la sécurité alimentaire. 2016. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/3.Document-d%E2%80%99information-%E2%80%93-Les-ne%CC%81onicotinoi%CC%88des-les-abeilles-domestiques-et-la-se%CC%81curite%CC%81-alimentaire.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment |title=DOCUMENT D’INFORMATION : Les néonicotinoïdes, les abeilles domestiques et la sécurité alimentaire |date=May 2016 |url=https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/3.Document-d%E2%80%99information-%E2%80%93-Les-ne%CC%81onicotinoi%CC%88des-les-abeilles-domestiques-et-la-se%CC%81curite%CC%81-alimentaire.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{canadianassociationofphysiciansfortheenvironment2016document, author = {{Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}}, title = {{DOCUMENT D’INFORMATION : Les néonicotinoïdes, les abeilles domestiques et la sécurité alimentaire}}, institution = {Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}, year = {2016}, month = may, url = {https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/3.Document-d%E2%80%99information-%E2%80%93-Les-ne%CC%81onicotinoi%CC%88des-les-abeilles-domestiques-et-la-se%CC%81curite%CC%81-alimentaire.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }