Pollinating animals and insects are important for seed production in many plants — and vitally important for modern agriculture. In the United States, approximately 200,000 species of beneficial insects help to create full harvests of crops, from almonds to cucumbers. Pollinator health is an important issue in the U.S. and abroad. In the U.S., pollination supports almost $20 billion of crop production annually, and between 15% and 30% of food consumed by humans in developed countries requires an animal or insect pollinator. The health of pollinating insects, including honeybees, is an imperative issue for everyone. As such, CropLife America (CLA) and its members are actively involved in efforts to study and improve pollinator health, which benefits farmers, consumers and the environment.
近年来的报告表明，传粉者，尤其是蜜蜂，正面临着新的健康挑战。根据一些报告，2010/2011 冬季管理蜂群报告的蜜蜂总损失平均为 30%。虽然尚未确定明确的原因，但专家表示，这是威胁蜜蜂健康的多种因素的结合，包括：瓦螨、疾病、文化习俗，有时还包括滥用杀虫剂。
The crop protection industry is dedicated to helping find the solution to bee decline and is working to ensure farmers are practicing responsible stewardship. To continue bringing the safest and most effective products to market, registrant companies comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) testing requirements, including laboratory and field tests for new crop protection products to determine any potential impact on pollinators as well as other beneficial insects. These studies help direct the warning statements and instructions that appear on product labels, and ensure that commercial products, when used as directed, will eliminate or minimize any potential adverse impacts on pollinators.
某些研究还指出，一些经过处理的种子可能是蜜蜂数量减少的原因。种子处理是最有效和最环保的杀虫剂输送系统之一；播种前仅向种子施用少量杀虫剂，从而减少杀虫剂的使用并降低暴露可能性。然而，北美和欧洲的大型研究，以及在标记使用时使用种子处理进行的超过两打的实地研究，迄今为止没有发现任何证据表明菌落下降与使用种子处理有关。
我们的行业支持在实验室和田间进一步测试传粉者的健康状况，并且测试应反映与田间相关的杀虫剂剂量和经过处理的种子，以便测试不利影响。我们的目标是使用对种植者实用、保护传粉者且可执行的标签语言。 CLA 及其成员认为，与养蜂人、种植者和监管机构保持牢固的工作关系至关重要，以便在地方层面找到对所有相关方都适用的最佳解决方案。