CropLife Canada says nurses and doctors in Ontario are “blatantly misleading the public” when it comes to the safety of neonicotinoids.
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) and the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) issued a statement last week claiming that neonicotinoid insecticides may cause brain damage in children.
The groups want the Ontario government to ban the controversial neonicotinoid class of insecticides, which are applied as coatings to nearly every corn and canola seed and some of the soybeans in North America.
Read Also
Canada announces steel tariffs on some trade partners
Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday said Canada will introduce a tariff rate quota for countries with which it has free trade agreements, excluding the United States, to protect the domestic steel industry.
Pierre Petelle, CropLife vice-president of chemistry, said linking neonics to childhood brain development is preposterous.
“This is a ridiculous allegation, coming from a known anti-ag activist group,” he said.
“Despite its name, the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment is nothing more than an environmental activist group that anyone can join simply by paying for a membership.”
Doris Grinspun, chief executive officer of RNAO, said the campaign is necessary because neonic insecticides may be compromising children’s brain development.
“Neonic pesticides are absorbed and incorporated into every part of the plant, to the leaf to the stem to the fruit to the pollen to the nectar. So when kids eat that … obviously the cumulative effect undoubtably also affects them,” she said.
“It is not surprising that we should be concerned about the potential adverse effects for human brain development and the cumulative effect of those (insecticides).”
The RNAO and CAPE have teamed up with the David Suzuki Foundation and Ontario Nature to buy ads on Toronto’s subway system. They show a sad boy looking at a dead bee and the caption reads: “Doctors and nurses say neonic pesticides hurt our bees and us.”
A number of scientists say neonic seed treatments are a threat to pollinators in North America.
Grinspun said there is no scientific proof that neonicotinoids cause brain damage, but nurses, doctors and society can’t wait for definitive evidence.
“We are saying you cannot wait until there is conclusive evidence that they actually cause complete damage of the brains of our children,” she said.
“Until there is no proof that it doesn’t (cause) damage … then we are saying hold it. We are asking at a minimum to start with a moratorium.”
It wasn’t noted in the doctors and nurses news release, but the brain damage claim is likely based on a European Food Safety Authority report.
An EFSA panel issued a scientific opinion last fall on the human health risks of neonicotinoids. The panel looked at published studies to evaluate the developmental neurotoxicity of two neonics: acetamiprid and imidacloprid.
The scientists concluded that “both compounds may affect neuronal development and function, although several methodological limitations have been identified.”
Petelle said the EFSA opinion isn’t valid.
“The EFSA panel findings are irrelevant to real-world use conditions for this product,” said Petelle, who cited qualifiers in the report.
“The EFSA also said: ‘Acute and chronic consumer exposure assessments have been conducted following current WHO (World Health Organization) methodologies and no risk for the consumer is expected resulting from the use of imidacloprid according to the representative uses.’ “
Petelle said the EFSA opinion has had little impact. No international regulatory body has adjusted its scientific findings to account for the report.
Barry Senft, chief executive officer of Grain Farmers of Ontario, said it is reckless and alarmist for medical professionals to make unfounded claims about neonics.
“To come out with these kind of statements about children’s health … this is just irresponsible,” he said.
Environmental groups are using neonicotinoids as a fundraising tool, he added.
“This is just a money raising campaign for some of those special interest groups.”
The European Food Safety Authority opinion on neonics and human health can be found at www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/3471.htm.
