COLDIRETTI: FIELDS CULTIVATED WITH GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS (GMO) KEEP BEES AWAY, REDUCING POLLINATION ACTIVITIES WITH SERIOUS REPERCUSSIONS ON THE ECOSYSTEM. STUDY RESULTS FROM A CANADIAN UNIVERSITY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

The distancing of bees from fields cultivated with genetically modified organisms (GMO) and the consequent reduction in pollination activities has caused scientific alarm for agriculture and the environment. This is what has recently emerged from the results of the study from the Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.
The study, published by the ‘Ecological Society of America’, has demonstrated that fields cultivated with GMO’s have a greatly reduced number of bees present, thus creating serious deficits in pollinating activities in respect to conventional fields. Bees, besides being useful insects for agriculture, have also long been a useful sensor to evaluate agri-systems because of their pollinating activities.
Their “mistrust” in regards to GMO’s is a signal that nature must not be underestimated. The capacity of bees to distinguish between plants that have been genetically modified from normal plants also demonstrates that the two types of cultivations are not equivalent. This confirms the need for preoccupation over the coexistence between conventional and biotech agricultural practices, as well as the need for more studies and experiments to verify the effects on agri-systems.
These results – explained Coldiretti – justify the growing opposition to GMO’s, giving credit to zero-tolerance choices in regards to biotech agriculture in Italy. According to the Coldiretti-Ispo 2006 survey of Italians’ opinions on health, one Italian out of four, in fact, is convinced that GMO products are unhealthy.
This is coherent with the path that Italian agriculture has chosen which, in part thanks to efforts by Coldiretti for food quality and safety, is GMO free and has conquered European leadership in organic food products.