"Environmental Group Says Pesticides Hurt Bees And Don't Help Farmers"

"The pesticides that are synonymous with the demise of honeybees don't do much for the farmers that use them, according to a new analysis by a national environmental group.

The Center for Food Safety said Monday that a growing body of independent scientific evidence shows that the pesticides, known as neonicotinoids, rarely improve crop yields. They are one of the most widely used agricultural chemicals in the world and a factor in the rising concern over the fate of the honeybee.

Today almost every corn and soybean seed that is planted each year on 170 million acres across the Midwest is coated with an insect neurotoxin that is absorbed by the growing plant. They are commonly used in backyard products, and are intrinsic to most nursery plants, which now come "pre-poisoned" as a defense against insects."

Josephine Marcotty reports for the Minneapolis Star Tribune March 24, 2014.