Bees on the Brink: Will Minnesota Act to Save Them?

On the heels of reports that beekeepers nationwide are losing honeybees at record rates, Minnesota continues to offer a glimmer of hope. Legislators have reintroduced bills to rein in toxic neonicotinoid (neonic) insecticide contamination that is driving bee losses, contaminating lands and waters, and posing risks to human health. And a diverse and growing coalition is making its voice heard: We must act now before it’s too late. 

Neonics are among the most ecologically disastrous pesticides since DDT. And they are everywhere in Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has detected these neurotoxins in 94 percent of white-tailed deer all over the state as of 2021—a sharp increase from just two years earlier. 

Water quality surveys underscore the scale of contamination. A 2021 study looked at water samples from rivers, streams, lakes, groundwater, and treated wastewater and found at least one neonic in 86 percent of samples. More recently, a report finds that neonics are nearly ubiquitous in Minnesota’s waterways, at levels that are likely to harm aquatic life.

Widespread neonic contamination is an ecological disaster and poses risks to human health. Here are three of the key impacts of this needless contamination: 

• Neurotoxic neonics threaten children’s health. A nationwide study has found neonics in 95 percent of the bodies of 171 tested pregnant women, raising serious concerns about developmental harms. Because neonics are neurotoxic, like lead or mercury, health experts have cautioned that there may be no safe level of exposure for the developing brains of children. 

Nevertheless, new NRDC analyses found that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is failing to protect the public against identified health risks of widespread exposure.

• Neonics are wiping out bees and other key crop pollinators. These pesticides are toxic to bees in extraordinarily small amounts and, at even lower amounts, can impact bees’ immune system, navigation, memory, and other functions that are critical to their survival and reproduction. Over the past year, evidence has continued to mount that neonics are wreaking havoc on pollinator populations, including not only honeybees but also wild bees and monarch butterflies.
• Neonics hollow out ecosystems. Because of their extreme toxicity, neonics wipe out the bugs and other creatures that so many species depend on for food, like birds, fish, and amphibians. These include migratory birds, game birds, and fish that prop up Minnesota’s multibillion-dollar outdoor recreation industry. 

The main source of this contamination is clear: Neonic-coated crop seeds used on upwards of 12 million acres statewide—an area twice the size of Massachusetts—each year. While neonic coatings are designed to be absorbed by the growing plant, they are incredibly wasteful. Ninety-five percent or more of the neonics applied to crop seeds enter the soil, where they migrate easily to contaminate whole ecosystems. 

Independent research shows that neonic seed coatings rarely provide economic returns for the farmers that use them. Why? Because they provide a short window of protection that does not align with real-world pest pressures in northern climates. In other words, they are designed to combat a pest problem that does not exist. 

You might ask: Why would farmers use seed coatings if they don’t work? Surveys show that farmers primarily get their pest control information from pesticide companies and seed dealers—who themselves are frequently affiliated with pesticide companies. A few giant chemical companies dominate the seed market. They use their enormous power to influence these information channels, advertising treated seeds as inexpensive insurance against catastrophic pest damage. Except when farmers buy this insurance, everyone—from pollinators to trout to farmers themselves—suffers from the resulting neonic contamination. 

HF2761/SF3083, chiefly authored by Representative Rick Hansen and Senator Jen McEwen, would make Minnesota a national leader in reducing unnecessary contamination of the environment. They do so by ensuring that treated seeds are regulated like other pesticides and tackling widespread, unnecessary use of pesticide-coated seeds, which are responsible for up to 90 percent of the neonics entering Minnesota’s environment. 

In a recent hearing before the Minnesota Senate’s agriculture committee, a diverse coalition of stakeholders voiced their support for these commonsense restrictions. The committee heard from fly anglers, organic farmers, conventional farmers, health professionals, and more—all of whom testified about how neonic contamination hurts them. 

While this hearing was informational, meaning that the bill did not technically advance toward passage, it shined a light on a neonic crisis that had not previously been discussed in public by the Senate committee. The harms inflicted by neonics and the need for change are undeniable. And every public discussion brings us closer to action. With HF2761/SF3083 alive for another year, NRDC and the NRDC Action Fund as well as the broader coalition will continue fighting tooth and nail to ensure that Minnesota’s leaders rise to the occasion.

This blog was originally published on February 13, 2024, and has been updated with new information and links.