U.K. Supermarket Chain To Ban Supplier Use Of Pesticides Harmful To Honeybees

Waitrose announced that by the end of 2014 farmers who supply the company with fruit, vegetables and flowers must phase out three neonicotinoid-based pesticides that the European Food Safety Authority has listed as posing a risk to honeybees. The restrictions are a precautionary measure, Waitrose said, until research demonstrates conclusively that the formulations are or are not affecting populations of pollinator insects. The chemicals – imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam – are still legal to use in the U.S., though beekeepers and environmental groups are suing the EPA, complaining that the agency is not protecting bees and their role in pollinating vital food crops.