Friends of the Earth - REALLY???

I saw an article in the Daily Mail recently which stated that loss of habitat due to an increase in intensive farming was resulting in the severe decline in pollinating insects. My own observations this last three years would appear to bear this out. However I don't believe that is the whole story. 

There's also the matter of the use of insecticides to make these intensive farm operations tick. The get rid of the pests there's no doubt about that but they also destroy beneficial insects like pollinators IE Bees and Butterflies. 

Why does this matter you ask well I saw a study which estimated that if we succeeded in getting rid of all pollinating insects then we humans would follow their path to extinction within four years as our crops failed year on year due to their demise at our hands. 

I had seen a Friends of the Earth offer for some free wild flower seeds and I put my name down to receive same. (I'm not digressing stick with me)  I then received regular emails usually trying to get me to contribute to them on a monthly basis. Their last communication was full of praise for the European Union who were apparently responsible for measures to save our bees. 

Shame on the bee-killers! Syngenta, Bayer, BASF

However when I checked this out I found it totally at odds with the facts. I looked up a site called Corporate Europe Observatory. They there detailed how for decades big pharmaceutical companies were able to lobby the EU and it subsequently allowed the continued manufacture of lethal substances, which far from helping pollinators were responsible for wiping them out wholesale. Far from the FOtE claims it would appear it is more interested in securing the EU funding which it recieves than any genuine interest in what the EU is actually doing to our bees!

The lobbyists have it stated over 30,000 (YOU READ THAT RIGHT) full time operators living in Brussels whose jobs depend on their ability to skew EU laws in favour of big business. 

These guys also operate a revolving door employment scheme whereby they alternate between being employed by big business and the EU commission. So its in their interests to always side with the corporate objectives so they guarantee their future highly lucrative employment prospects.

IF BEES DISAPPEAR MAN HAS JUST FOUR YEARS SURVIVAL

The bottom line on all this is the fact that unless a way is found to end these abuses then the very survival of humankind itself will be at stake. If we fail to take care of the natural environment then the big business concerns will cut not only  ours but their own throats too. Lets hope the self interest and preservation message sinks in before its too late