Getting All the Facts

Jennifer Zurko

We’re lucky enough to live in an age where anything we want to know, we can just look up with a few finger swipes. But we have to remember that not all of the information we see contains all of the facts. In a world of soundbites and bullet points, getting to the real truth about something is even more difficult than ever before. 

Similar to the controversy of medical marijuana or immigration—topics that I’ve tackled in previous July issues of GrowerTalks—the pesticide/pollinator issue is very emotional for a lot of people. And many times, the mainstream media reports on faulty science take information out of context with regard to the honey bee decline. If we ran a photo of thousands of dead bumblebees on the cover of our tenured magazine, we’d certainly get more calls and emails than we did when we put a marijuana plant on there. Think about how Joe/Josephine Consumer reacts when they see or hear about something like that—especially when he/she doesn’t know all of the facts. To them, it’s a simple equation: pesticides + plants = dead bees.

And you can’t really blame them. When they read that declining bee populations might prevent us from growing our own food in the future, it builds on a legitimate fear. But is it right for people dressed in bee suits to picket outside of a Home Depot or Lowe’s and tell consumers not to buy bedding plants because they kill bees when in fact that’s not the sole reason? As a journalist, I strongly support the right of freedom of speech, and as much as you may be frustrated by certain environmental groups, they can exercise their right to protest whatever and whenever they want. But when they start protesting your stuff, your livelihood—even questioning your character (how could you kill the bees?!)—it’s unsettling.

And that’s why we decided to tackle this highly emotional and controversial topic. My goal was to toe the middle line and talk to a variety of different people who have a vested interest in either the use of neonicotinoids or the conservation of pollinators to get different points of view. My intention is to educate our readers so that when their local legislature starts looking into pesticide restrictions—and it may happen—it won’t be a surprise.

For now, this is what you should keep in mind: follow the label always, be in the know about what chemicals you’re using (and even continue to question your use of them), and pay attention to what’s going on by listening to our industry organizations, like SAF and AmericanHort. Then you won’t be caught off guard as this issue continues to buzz … well, like a hive full of honey bees.