Most of the world's honey contains yummy pesticides
- 7 years ago
SWITZERLAND — Neonicotinoid pesticides are showing up in honey on every continent with honeybees, according to a new study.
"On the global scale, the contamination is really striking," said study coauthor Edward Mitchell, a soil biologist at the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.
Around 200 samples of honey were tested and 75 percent found to contain measurable levels of at least one of the five common neonicotinoids, Science News reported.
Neonicotinoids are used on various crops grown in different climates, but still showed up in honey from remote islands with almost no agriculture.
The insecticide works by targeting crop-destroying insect's central nervous system.
A number of studies have found the insecticide also reduces and weakens honeybee hives.
Pesticide levels varied from region-to-region. In North America, 86 percent of samples contained pesticides; Asia, 80 percent; Europe, 79 percent; Africa, 73 percent; the Australian region, 71 percent and South America, 57 percent.
Bees and other pollinators are necessary to three-quarters of the world's food crops, but have been declining in number in recent decades, the Guardian reported.
Destruction of wild habitats, disease and massive pesticide use are all contributing factors.
"On the global scale, the contamination is really striking," said study coauthor Edward Mitchell, a soil biologist at the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.
Around 200 samples of honey were tested and 75 percent found to contain measurable levels of at least one of the five common neonicotinoids, Science News reported.
Neonicotinoids are used on various crops grown in different climates, but still showed up in honey from remote islands with almost no agriculture.
The insecticide works by targeting crop-destroying insect's central nervous system.
A number of studies have found the insecticide also reduces and weakens honeybee hives.
Pesticide levels varied from region-to-region. In North America, 86 percent of samples contained pesticides; Asia, 80 percent; Europe, 79 percent; Africa, 73 percent; the Australian region, 71 percent and South America, 57 percent.
Bees and other pollinators are necessary to three-quarters of the world's food crops, but have been declining in number in recent decades, the Guardian reported.
Destruction of wild habitats, disease and massive pesticide use are all contributing factors.