BBC cover up Syngenta influence at Rothamsted Research

[mark at tlio.org.uk]

Lord Knight of Weymouth (Labour) said in the House of Lords on the 
30th July 2013:

“My Lords, reports this weekend that bees and other pollinators have 
bred well this year are most welcome. More concerning are reports that 
the lead government scientist on the effect of neonicotinoids on bees 
is joining Syngenta, one of the leading manufacturers of the 
insecticide. She previously worked on a Syngenta-funded project on 
bees and pesticides for FERA. Given the widespread concerns among the 
public about bee health, what assurances can the Minister give us that 
this closeness between policymakers and commercial interests benefits 
taxpayers more than shareholders?”


The person he refers to is Dr Helen Thompson

This could well be the best antidote to for recently published BBC 1 
hr Horizon documentary ‘What’s killing our bees’, presented by 
non-scientist and BBC Breakfast presenter Bill Turnbull: 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2013/31/horizon-whats-killing-our-bees.html
BBC iplayer link: 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b037y0zf/Horizon_20122013_Whats_Killing_Our_Bees_A_Horizon_Special/
This BBC propaganda piece failed to mention even once the name 
Syngenta , even though Rothamsted Research has Syngenta on management 
board and all research on bee decline at Rothamsted Research had been 
diverted in to anything but researching neonicotinoinds ....Syngenta 
sponsored research had been moved to Exeter University within the past 
year.
Even while discussing a staged event at the British Library 'to 
debate' bee decline the programme went in to pains not to mention 
Syngenta even though  Dr Peter Campbell of Syngenta was featured on 
camera as a voice of agribusiness companies.

http://www.bl.uk/whatson/events/event146260.html

The documentary finished with a disgusting deception that was 
presented using despicable Prof. Lin Field which was nothing more than 
brainwashing the country into accepting GM crops, with the 
presentation of Rothamstead’s development of a new GM crop which 
contains a chemical Beta-Farnasene which acts as a repellent to aphids 
and not bees – yet the crop they were presenting as evidence could 
only have been the GM Wheat variety they are developing in the lab at 
Rothhamstead for a 2nd year which contains the heavily patented 
Beta-Farnasene (bees do not pollinate wheat, which like all grasses 
are wind pollinated).

Note: The EU Moratorium for 2 year ban on neonicotinoids has been 
postponed by an year.
---

Some related links:

Dr Helen Thompson and conflict of interest covered by The Guardian:

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jul/26/government-bee-scientist-pesticide-firm


Dr Thomson's hard work:

http://www.channel4.com/news/bee-decline-not-caused-by-pesticides
04 April 2011
Bee decline 'not caused by pesticides'
"http://www.channel4.com/news/bee-decline-not-caused-by-pesticides"


FERA's work:

https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/

even..
https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/index.cfm?sectionid=34
...helping Africa!!!