Spokane bans use of neonicotinoids
June 24, 2014 | 08:11 PM
The city council of Spokane, Wash., voted Monday to discontinue the purchase and use of insecticides containing neonicotinoids on municipal property, the city said in a news release today.
Ben Stuckart
City Council President Ben Stuckart, who sponsored the ordinance, noted that it “comes on the heels of a very deadly bee kill in Oregon linked to the application of neonicotinoids as well as executive order by President Obama to look for ways the federal government can promote the health of honey bees and other pollinators.”
Pollinators are integral to all agriculture, including Spokane’s urban agriculture program, Stuckart noted in his testimony.
“This ordinance simply says Spokane prioritizes the protection of our food supply over the ornamental use of pesticides,” he said.
Other Pacific Northwest cities such as Eugene, Ore., and Seattle have banned the use of neonicotinoids or created pesticide reduction strategies to end their use, he added.
Environmentalists have said that neonicotinoids contribute to colony collapse disorder, but the companies that make the insecticides have said the causes of the problem are much broader.
City Council President Ben Stuckart, who sponsored the ordinance, noted that it “comes on the heels of a very deadly bee kill in Oregon linked to the application of neonicotinoids as well as executive order by President Obama to look for ways the federal government can promote the health of honey bees and other pollinators.”
Pollinators are integral to all agriculture, including Spokane’s urban agriculture program, Stuckart noted in his testimony.
“This ordinance simply says Spokane prioritizes the protection of our food supply over the ornamental use of pesticides,” he said.
Other Pacific Northwest cities such as Eugene, Ore., and Seattle have banned the use of neonicotinoids or created pesticide reduction strategies to end their use, he added.
Environmentalists have said that neonicotinoids contribute to colony collapse disorder, but the companies that make the insecticides have said the causes of the problem are much broader.
