Sen. Shirley Nathan-Pulliam's appeal for support for the Pollinator Protection Act ("No Bees? No Food," March 6) is a sad reminder of how hard it is to advocate for public health protections these days. Government has an odd tendency to put business interests over those of people. The bill Senator Nathan-Pulliam is sponsoring would not only be protective of the bees, which are essential to our food supply, but also to the health of our kids and our ecosystems.
Senator Nathan-Pulliam was a nurse before she turned to law-making. She has reviewed the scientific literature on neonicotinoid pesticides, as have I. The science suggests that these pesticides work by interfering with neurological function, in bees, in mammals, and therefore in people.
In Europe, they ask manufacturers to prove products are safe before coming to market. In the U.S., and lately in Maryland, we fear a so-called "unfriendly business climate" more than we fear harm to our food supply, or to the developing brains of our children. Is it really so much to ask to restrict consumer use of these potent pesticides? Is it too much to ask that plants treated with them be well labeled?
Rebecca Ruggles
The writer is director of the Maryland Environmental Health Network.