If you remember from elementary school, you know that bees are important. One of planet Earth’s beloved beneficial pollinators, these busy bodies transfer pollen between plants, increase crop yields and create the deliciously sweet, earthy elixir known as honey – a global market valued around of 7 billion US dollars.
Indeed, when you look at the big picture, much of our society and culture is built around an ongoing love affair between bees and agriculture. Indeed, much of human society is directly linked to agricultural systems that have enabled social expansion. Without beneficial pollinators like bees, who can say where Homo sapiens would be today? Perhaps not so far from the caves of our neanderthal relatives.
But as is often the case, this love story is not so simple. Let’s peel back a few layers and embrace the tacky details. It is imperative that we do this – for the bees and for our survival.
(Image via Pixabay user Terry Sharp)
In the shelling of the bees
For more nine thousand years at least bees have been an integral part of human food culture. Returning to the stone Age, the use of honey is depicted in paintings and in medicinal texts. Bees pollinate thousands and thousands of plant species. These plants include potato, onion, cabbage, peppers, chestnuts, watermelon, cucumber, carrots, sunflowers. The list continues. It’s very likely that most of the meals you eat are made possible by these clumsy friends.
These agricultural collaborations continue today. Every year, farmers spend millions of dollars on rent beehives and pollinate their crops. The bees contributed $24 billion to American agriculture in 2016. In the United States alone, bees also produced 161.8 million pounds of raw honey. These little guys don’t stop.
How it works?
A bee collects pollen and nectar from a flowering plant. This occurs in nature or in a maintained and tended agricultural field. Pollen from the stamen (the male reproductive organ of the plant) sticks to the tiny hairs on the bee’s body. The bee then transfers the pollen to the next plant it visits. Honey bees, in particular, provide up to 80% of the pollination of cultivated crops.
(Image via Pixabay user Pexels)
A disaster for bees is a disaster for agriculture
In 2006, beekeepers reported disturbing news: colonies of bees were disappearing. The hives were completely abandoned for reasons that people could not yet explain. Fourteen years later, the causes of this colony collapse disorder are still unclear. Farmers continue to lose more than 45% of their bees every winter — a heartbreaking statistic that’s also pretty terrifying when you think about the implications of a world without these pollinators. Much of the beauty we experience – and the food we eat – is due to bees. We have to find a way to protect them.
Aware of the bees
As with ecosystems around the world, the climate crisis will determine the fate of all of us, bees and humans. Without swift and radical action on sustainability on a global scale, the truth is that none of us stands much of a chance. If you care about survival, flowers, fresh food on the table, healthy ecosystems and beneficial insects, the most important action you can take is to vote for leaders who will prioritize the health of the planet by holding corporations and Big Ag accountable for their polluting activities and unethical practices. We need leaders who will introduce and pass effective legislation to reverse the current course of humanity. While it may already be too late, it is also criminal to do nothing in the present moment.
Bee an ally
A sustainable future will require systemic change. You can also take individual measurements. Consider tearing up your lawn and planting a pollinator garden of native plants in your area. Then convince your neighbors to do the same. Consider buying your produce from organic farmers who prioritize pollinator habitats and insect and bird protection measures in your area.
If you’re particularly concerned about bees, make sure you don’t buy plants or support vendors that sell green products that contain neonicotinoids. Some farmers and growers commonly use this pesticide which is linked to declining bee populations. It is detrimental. Legislation limits this in the European Union. The Trump administration in the United States has restrictions canceled. This is unacceptable to anyone concerned with bee populations.
(Image via Pixabay user edmondlafoto)
keep working
When it comes to the love affair between bees and agriculture, we need to believe in the power of a sustainable future. The story is not over yet. In a delightful twist, perhaps it is the mind of the ever-busy bee that can provide the model for what we as human beings need to do to change things: keep going, keep working, spread beauty in the world, and do it. together.
Featured image via Pixabay user Myriams-Fotos
2023-07-16 13:10:39
#Bees #agriculture #love #story #Threatened #species.fr
