New research links Monsanto weedkiller to bee health issues
New research adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests Monsanto’s ubiquitious and controversial weedkiller, RoundUp, is delivering to bees a sucker-punch to the gut.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by a team of researchers at the University of Texas, shows that when bees make their daily rounds, landing on plants to collect pollen and nectar, any glyphosate they might ingest is hurting the microbiomes of their guts.
Glyphosate is an active ingredient in some of Monsanto’s herbicide products.
In 2014, the US government reported 2.5 million managed bee colonies. That represented a significant drop from about 60 years prior, when there were about 6 million colonies in America. And those numbers have economic and food repercussions.
Quartz
https://qz.com/1401593/new-research-links-monsanto-weedkiller-to-bee-health-issues/amp/
Study: Roundup Weed Killer Could Be Linked To Widespread Bee Deaths : NPR
Fact Sheet: The Economic Challenge Posed by Declining Pollinator Populations | whitehouse.gov