Evidence in the neonicotinoids debate

As the EU debate on the neonicotinoid ban looms next week, here’s a thought-provoking piece from a scientist in Nature on the debate. Here’s one telling paragraph:

As a scientist involved in this debate, I find this misinformation deeply frustrating. Yet I also see that lies and exaggeration on both sides are a necessary part of the democratic process to trigger rapid policy change. It is simply impossible to interest millions of members of the public, or the farming press, with carefully reasoned explanations. And politicians respond to public opinion much more readily than they respond to science.