In July 2010 I published a ground-breaking discovery in the journal Toxicology (attached). My paper convincingly demonstrated that the risk of chronic exposure of arthropods (including bees) to a relatively new class of pesticides, called neonicotinoids, which are mainly produced by Bayer CropScience, had been severely underestimated. There is general consensus now about this conclusion. The discovery explains the massive decline of insects recorded in recent years (articles attached). German entomologists estimate that 75% of the biomass of flying insects in a nature reserve in Krefeld has disappeared since the introduction of neonicotinoid insecticides in the mid-1990s (article attached).
The neonicotinoids are an important product of Bayer CropScience, generating hundreds of millions each year. In a recent Editorial in the Open Access Journal of Toxicology (article attached) I demonstrate that Bayer puts profits before environmental protection. They knew they had a big problem but to get out of the mess Bayer scientists Maus and Nauen (article attached) started to flatly deny what had previously been established by their colleagues Mencke and Hansen (article attached). By doing so, Bayer has created a liability issue because insects and ecosystem services were lost as a result of unwarranted product defense.
My consultancy would like to start legal proceedings to force Bayer to invest in an environmental recovery fund, but funds are required to do so.
Donations can be made by transfer to IBAN: NL54 ABNA 0624 6825 95 (account holder: ETS Nederland BV in Zutphen, The Netherlands; BIC/Swift code: ABNANL2A). Thank you.
Yours sincerely
Dr. H. A. (Henk) Tennekes
Consultant in Toxicology
Experimental Toxicology Services (ETS) Nederland BV
Frankensteeg 4
7201KN Zutphen, The Netherlands
www.toxicology.nl
www.disasterinthemaking.com
www.farmlandbirds.net