Influencing for Results: Bees, Beekeepers and Norwegian Pesticide Legislation

Many who are worried about the disappearance of pollinating insects, question the role of pesticides and point to the need for stricter legislation regulating the use of these chemicals. This article studies the years between 1933 and 1953, when legislation regulating the use of pesticides against insects and weeds was established in Norway. It analyses how knowledge about effects of pesticides circulated from Norwegian honeybees, to their beekeepers and their network. It suggests that the actors’ position and standing influenced what knowledge they put into circulation and what knowledge they suppressed. A knowledge hierarchy meant that some actors were powerful enough to influence the discourse on toxicity, established in those years.