Dear Neighbors,
In the final days of the State Legislature there are important decisions being made like providing adequate funding to our schools to prevent larger class sizes and teacher layoffs and not ending health insurance for 100,000 Minnesotans when we have a $2 billion projected surplus. There’s another issue that’s close to home. In fact, it’s an issue right in your back yard or even on your windowsill.
Last year, the DFL led legislature addressed the widespread use of pesticides that harm and kill bees and other pollinating insects. We rely on them to pollinate our flowers and allow plants to bear fruit. Last year we approved a law that nurseries and gardening centers couldn’t market plants as “pollinator or bee and butterfly friendly” if they’ve been treated with pesticides containing neonicotinoids an artificial chemical that is toxic. We all know bees and other pollinators go from flower to flower. Recent research has found that even low levels of neonicotinoids can interfere with the ability of bees and other insects to function. While attractive to pollinators, the plants might actually harm or kill them. People have a right to know if plants they purchase contain chemicals that can contribute to the decline of bees and other pollinators.
This year, after much lobbying by businesses, the GOP led House passed language that would allow nurseries to market plants as safe for bees and other pollinators as long as the levels are low enough to not kill a bee after a single sip of nectar or after taking on a single load of pollen. In my view, that’s not safe enough and I voted against the measure. Bees are dying off which is threatening our food and the health of our natural environment. Until we have more understanding of the science of this issue, we simply should not allow the marketing of plants as “bee and butterfly friendly” if they can slowly poison bees and butterflies. I can’t support these changes and I hope you join me in learning more about the importance of bees and pollinators to our lives.
Your neighbor,
Connie Bernardy
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