Bees are extremely important to the pollination of UK crops, particularly
oilseed rape and beans. In the UK there are estimated to be between
100,000 and 300,000 hives (see
footnote 1), working out at one hive per square kilometre. A
hive may contain up to 50,000 bees and individual bees may visit up
to 100 flowers on each trip out from the hive. The value of honey bees'
services as pollinators in the European Union has been estimated at
around £3 billion per year
(see footnote 2).
Genetically modified (GM) crops are very near to being grown commercially.
GM maize and oilseed rape varieties are in the last stages of the regulatory
procedure which will allow them to be grown anywhere in the UK. A farming
industry organisation, the Supply Chain Initiative on Modified Agricultural
Crops (SCIMAC) has developed guidelines for farmers growing GM crops.
But there are no provisions within these for protecting beehives from
contamination with GM pollen, or even to inform beekeepers if GM crops
are to be grown in their area.
In 1999 the Government started a series of 'farm-scale trials' of GM
herbicide-tolerant crops. Each of these GM crop trials covers ten hectares
(25 acres) and it is planned to have at least 25 sites for each GM crop
involved - winter and spring oilseed rape, maize and sugar beet. These
trials are meant to examine the environmental effects of GM crops, but
they have not been designed to prevent pollen escaping from the test
sites or to protect nearby beekeepers from contamination of their honey.
Oilseed rape is an extremely important crop for bees and beekeepers.
It is the crop to which commercial hives are most often moved
(see footnote 3), and pollination contracts for oilseed rape
provide an important source of income to many beekeepers. It is very
attractive to bees, and has 'sticky' pollen, which the bees can get
covered in. Most GM oilseed rape in the UK has been engineered to resist
herbicides.
GM maize is also close to commercial production and being growing at
farm-scale trials. Bees collect pollen for food and in the US it has
been found that pollen from maize fields can make up to 20 per cent
of the total collected by bees from nearby hives
(see footnote 4).
Genetic engineering is imprecise and unpredictable. Genes are inserted
from organisms which have never been eaten as food, and so new proteins
are introduced into the human and animal food chains. There is concern
that these could cause allergic reactions or other health effects.
A study by Government researchers found that there are between 20,000
and 80,000 pollen grains in a portion (10g) of shop-bought honey
(see footnote 5). There are already cases of people who are
allergic to honey, and this has been linked to pollen in the honey
(see footnote 6). The novel proteins or toxins produced by GM
crops may also be in the pollen they produce. This means that honey
containing GM pollen could pose a potential health risk. The researchers
who studied this problem concluded that if GM pollen contained novel
toxins or proteins it “could pose problems, not only to man who
consumes honey as a food, but also to bee populations which rely on
pollen as the sole source of protein”
(see footnote 7).
As well as this, research into honey has found that bees can pass
proteins from nectar unchanged into honey
(see footnote 8). If GM crops produce novel proteins or toxins
in the nectar as well, this may further threaten the safety of honey
produced from GM crops.
GM plants may also contain genes which provide resistance to commonly
used antibiotics such as ampicillin. There is concern that these could
be passed on to the bacteria that live in humans and animals. DNA from
pollen has been found to be able to survive in honey for seven weeks
(see footnote 9). It may be that this could be a route for such
gene transfer.
In spite of the risks, there has been almost no safety testing of GM pollen, either for humans or for bees. Even the food safety tests of GM crops have been limited to short-term tests on animals. The Government's advisors on the safety of GM foods rely on results of tests conducted by the GM companies themselves. Recently Dr Andrew Chesson, a leading food scientist from the Rowett Research Institute, expressed concern that current safety tests may be insufficient to detect new, unexpected chemicals in GM foods (see footnote 10). Although the Government is conducting its own independent research into GM food safety, the results will not be ready until 2001.
Honey bees commonly forage up to two km from the hive, but oilseed
rape fields are such an attractive source of nectar that bees may travel
at least five km to get to them
(see footnote 11). In a recent study, a bee hive was placed
800 m from a field of GM oilseed rape. When the oilseed rape was in
flower, it made up 70% of the pollen that the bees carried back to the
hive. One bee returning to the hive had 60,000 oilseed rape pollen grains
stuck to its body (see footnote
12). As the bees brush past each other in the hive any GM pollen
is spread throughout the colony and taken out again by other bees.
In summer 1999, Friends of the Earth commissioned research to study
this issue. The researchers put pollen samplers on the entrances to
beehives around a ten hectare farm scale test site of GM oilseed rape.
The pollen samplers measured how much pollen the bees were carrying
into the hive. The bee hives were 150m, 2.5 km and 4.5 km away from
the test site. GM pollen was found in all the samples from the different
beehives, including the one furthest away. The results show that even
if a beehive is 4.5 km from a field of GM oilseed rape, the honey can
still become contaminated with GM pollen. This has serious implications
for all beekeepers.
Not only are bee hives near to GM oilseed rape fields likely to become contaminated with GM pollen, but the bees may spread GM pollen to non-GM crops several miles away. It is likely that in the future farmers will be growing oilseed rape for the 'GM-free' market. In such cases, contamination of the crop could cause financial loss to the farmer. At the moment it is unclear who would be held liable for this, and whether the beekeeper might be held responsible as well as the farmer who grows the GM crop.
At the moment, companies or farmers planting GM crops do not have to
consult with neighbouring beekeepers, or even tell them that there is
a GM crop nearby. Even if the beekeeper finds out that there is a GM
crop nearby, it is up to them to test their honey for contamination.
Because of this, it is very possible that beekeepers have already unwittingly
sold GM honey to the public.
The former Food Safety Minister Jeff Rooker stated that honey containing
GM pollen would have to be labelled before being sold
(see footnote 13). But this only applies to honey containing
pollen from GM crops which have gained permission to be sold as food.
GM test sites, including at present the farm-scale trials of GM oilseed
rape, grow GM crops which have not yet got such permission. In these
cases, the law states that any GM material from them cannot be sold
in food, including GM pollen. This means that if honey becomes contaminated
with pollen from a test site or the farm-scale trials it could be illegal
to sell it.
As it stands, GM crops pose a serious threat to beekeepers and honey
production in the UK. Honey contaminated with GM pollen will either
have to be disposed of safely or sold as a GM product. Either of these
options is likely to cause financial harm to beekeepers. Despite this,
there is no system to ensure that beekeepers are consulted about GM
crops growing nearby nor are there any provisions for compensation in
the event of financial losses which might result.
Wild bees are vital for the survival of many of our wild plants, as
well as being important for crops. Some species of wild plants are dependent
on wild bees for their pollination and survival. Several species of
bumblebees and solitary bees are also important pollinators for food
crops.
Bumblebees are very important in the UK, as they fly around at lower
temperatures and in worse weather than honeybees. In addition, bumblebees
are best able to pollinate some wild flowers, such as foxgloves. Natural
populations of bumblebees are in decline in the UK and across the EU.
Solitary bees are bees that live on their own, rather than in hives
or nests. There are several hundred species across Europe, but very
little is known about them apart from the fact that, like bumblebees,
they are in decline.
The decline of bumblebees and solitary bee populations has been linked
to modern intensive farming
(see footnote 14). The widespread use of herbicides and the
increased intensity of farming has removed the habitats that wild bees
make nests in, and reduced the numbers of wild plants which they use
for food. There is concern that the introduction of GM herbicide tolerant
crops, such as oilseed rape, will reduce still further the diversity
and number of wild plants found in UK farmland. Such concerns have been
expressed by English Nature, the Government's own wildlife advisor,
as well as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Wildlife
Trusts. The widespread use of GM herbicide-tolerant crops is likely
to threaten further wild bee populations.
It is clear that growing GM crops in the UK will pose a serious threat
to beekeepers and honey production in the UK. Issues around food safety,
liability, the cost to beekeepers and the threat to wild bee populations
have yet to be resolved. Vital questions need to be answered and there
needs to be a full public debate on the acceptable uses of genetic engineering.
Friends of the Earth (FOE) is opposed to the untested introduction
of GM crops and foods in the UK. We are campaigning against outdoor
testing of GM crops, including the farm scale trials. FOE is calling
for a full public debate on the future of farming and how our food is
produced. A moratorium, or freeze, on the commercial production and
importation of GM food and crops is now urgently required.
Emily Diamand, September 1999
The Real Food Campaign
Friends of the Earth
26-28, Underwood Street
LONDON
N1 7JQ
Tel 020 7490 1555
Fax 020 7490 0881
Email - info@foe.co.uk
Website - www.foe.co.uk
return to text
1. Williams, I. 1994. “Dependence on Crop Production within
the European Union on pollination by honey bees” Agricultural Zoological
Review Vol 6 pp 229-257
return to text
2.Carreck, NL. Pollination Ecology Research at IACR-Rothamsted
return to text
3.Williamson, I. 1996 “Aspects of bee diversity and crop pollination
in the European Union” in A Matheson, SL Buchmann, C O'Toole, P
Westrich and I Williams (eds) The Conservation of Bees Academic Press.
return to text
4.Erickson, EH, Erickson BH, Flottum PK, Wyman JA, Wedberg JL &
Page RE. 1997. “Effects of selected insecticide formulations, phased
applications and colony management strategies on honey bee mortality
in processing sweetcorn” Journal of Apical Research 36(1) pp 3-13
return to text
5.MAFF Research & Development and Surveillance Report: 376. Undated.
Honey from genetically modified plants: integrity of DNA and entry of
GM-derived proteins into the food chain via honey MAFF project No 2B
067
return to text
6.Bauer, L et al. 1996 “Food allergy to honey: Pollen or bee
products? Characterisation of allergenic proteins in honey by means
of immunoblotting” Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Vol
97 1(1) pp 65-73
return to text
7.Wilkinson, JE, D Twell and K Lindsey. 1997 “Activities of
CaMV 35S and nos promoters in pollen: implications for field release
of transgenic plants” Journal of Experimental Botany Vol 48 (307)
pp 265-275
return to text
8.Coghlan, A. 1999 “Healing Honey: flowers are being turned
into vaccine factories” New Scientist 23 June 1999
return to text
9. Eady, C, D Twell & K Lindsey. 1995 “ Pollen viability
and trans-gene expression following storage in honey” Transgenic
Research Vol 4 pp 226-231
return to text
10. Daily Express, 4 September 1999. “New GM warning over danger
chemicals entering food chain”
return to text
11.Ramsay, G, CE Thompson, S Neilson, GR Mackay, 1999. “Honeybees
as vectors of GM oilseed rape pollen” in Gene Flow and agriculture:
relevance for transgenic crops BCPC Symposium Proceedings No 72 pp 209-214
return to text
12.Ibid.
return to text
13.Rooker, J. House of Commons Hansard Written Answers 15 April 1999
(Part 6) Col 321
return to text
14. Williamson, I. 1996 “Aspects of bee diversity and crop pollination
in the European Union” in A Matheson, SL Buchmann, C O'Toole, P
Westrich and I Williams (eds) The Conservation of Bees pp 63-80 Academic
Press
Contact details:
Friends of the Earth
26-28 Underwood St.
LONDON
N1 7JQ
Tel: 020 7490 1555
Fax: 020 7490 0881
Email: info@foe.co.uk
Website: www.foe.co.uk
September 1999
Emily Diamand, Real Food Team
Last modified: June 2001
