More than two thirds of the pollen that honeybees collected from European fields and brought to their hives to feed their larvae is contaminated with a cocktail of up to 17 different toxic pesticides, Greenpeace has claimed.
It is part of a new study by Greenpeace International, released as a part of its Europe-wide campaign to save the bees and agriculture.
The chemicals detected in Europe's pollen range are from insecticides, acaricides, fungicides and herbicides, it claims.
The analysis of pesticide residues in comb pollen (beebread) and trapped pollen from honey bees” is the largest of its kind in Europe, comprising over 100 samples from 12 countries. In total 53 different chemicals were detected.
The study is a snapshot of the toxicity of Europe’s current agricultural system.
Matthias Wüthrich, Greenpeace ecological farming campaigner, said: “This study on contaminated pollen reveals the unbearable burden of bees and other vital pollinators. Bees are exposed to a cocktail of toxic pesticides."
He claimed it showed a need for a "fundamental shift towards ecological farming.”
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