Land of milk v. honey: Dairy farmers lobby against banning pesticides that kill bees

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Vermont’s bees are dying at unprecedented rates, and it’s not a whodunit: Study after study points to a class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids as being at least partly responsible for the staggering rate of colony collapse in Vermont and around the world.

And yet state lawmakers remain unwilling to address the No. 1 source of these toxic chemicals in the Green Mountains: imported feed-corn seeds that have been treated with the pesticides. A bill to ban their use is being blocked by powerful dairy interests who contend that the coated seeds are essential to make sure pests don’t eat the corn grown for cows.

Darren Perron spoke with Seven Days’ Kevin McCallum, who wrote about the story in this week’s issue.

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