Save the Bees

Dmitry Grigoriev/Unsplash

The bee population has dropped once again in 2023 at what experts call an unsustainable rate. This has already had disastrous consequences on the food supply and human lifespan.

Story at a Glance

• Information from a survey by the University of Maryland and Auburn University found that 48 percent of the honeybee colonies were lost from April 2022 to April 2023. More than 130 fruits, vegetables, and nuts, and 35 percent of the world’s crops depend on pollinators.
• One of the primary challenges to the bee population is parasitic mites that originated in Asia. It once took a 60 percent infestation to damage a colony of bees that now experience massive problems from only a 2 percent infestation.
• Experts believe that if neonicotinoid pesticides (neonics) don’t kill bees outright, they weaken immunity, making bees more vulnerable to parasites like the Varroa mite. Neonics may also enhance the fertility of the mite, increasing damage to the bee population.
• As Amy van Saun, senior attorney for the Center for Food Safety, notes, the EPA has effectively abdicated its role as an agency to protect the health and environment in America. It is increasingly and knowingly approving chemicals that are harmful to people and the environment.
• The application of dangerous pesticides affects people eating plant- and meat-based diets. As the fake-food industry pushes more people toward an ultra-processed, plant-based food diet, you have to ask if this is a coordinated attack to kill livestock and destroy crops through pollination loss, ultimately pushing people to all lab-grown “food.”

More than 130 fruits, vegetables, and nuts,¹ and 35 percent of the world’s crops depend on pollinators.² The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that’s 1 in 3 bites of food that go into your mouth, and likely more than that if you eat a whole-food diet.