Neonicotinoids on Crops Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Catherine West
Main Page: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)Department Debates - View all Catherine West's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Neonicotinoids on Crops
Catherine West Excerpts(8 years, 11 months ago)
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Daniel Zeichner
I very much agree. Those of us who have ploughed through the detailed report find it overwhelming. It was disappointing that, after opposing the earlier advice, the coalition Government published a 10-year national pollinator strategy for bees and other pollinators that did not go nearly far enough. Specifically, it ignored the challenge that neonicotinoid use poses to pollinators.
This autumn, the Government, despite the growing evidence demonstrating the adverse impact of neonicotinoids on pollinator numbers, granted an emergency authorisation for their use. In my county of Cambridgeshire, it allowed farmers to plant oilseed rape with neonicotinoid-treated seeds, which sparked many protests across my constituency and contributed to half a million people across the country signing petitions.
Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)
Does my hon. Friend agree that that decision was made a little too soon, as not enough research had been done?
Daniel Zeichner
I thank my hon. Friend for that point. Many people felt that at the time. We all agree that the challenge is how best to take a science-led approach to the use of pesticides. We must balance the need to support farmers and protect food security with the need to protect wildlife and reverse the decline of pollinators.