The Staggering Plight of the Honeybee

Photo Courtsey Of: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Bees have been dying off around the world for more than a decade now, a phenomenon that has been named “Colony Collapse Disorder,” or CCD.

The U.S. and the U.K. both reported losing a third of their honeybees in 2010. Italy lost half. The die-offs have spread to China and India, in addition to many other countries.

A third of the U.S. food supply requires the assistance of the honeybee.

The collapse of bee colonies is probably multifactorial, rather than a response to one type of toxic assault.

Although experts don’t yet understand all of the underlying factors and how they interact to cause our pollinators to disappear, they agree about one thing: if we allow this to continue, our already-limited global food supply is at risk, which means more than 7 billion humans occupying this planet are at risk as well.

The common honeybee pollinates 130 different crops in the U.S. alone, including fruits, vegetables and tree nuts.

Without our bees, almonds, pumpkins, watermelons and other varieties of melon, and even vanilla, could completely disappear.

Haagen-Dazs donated $250,000 to research into bee colony collapse disorder because it says the honeybees are responsible for 24 of its 60 ice cream flavors, including strawberry, toasted pecan and banana split.

As usual, at the core of the problem is big industry, which is blinded by greed and enabled by a corrupt governmental system that permits the profit-driven sacrifice of our environment. Unfortunately, this motivation reflects an extreme shortsightedness about the long-term survival of the human race, as well as of our planet. Not only are commercial agricultural practices harming honeybee colonies, but your own health is being compromised by deceptive marketing practices about the “honey” you buy, some of which isn’t really honey at all, despite what it says on the label.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

LILING O.

11:19PM PDT on Mar 31, 2013

Bees are disappearing very fast. And back then it was so common to see beehives but sadly not anymore.
I do not understand why there are so much honeys available on the market these days when many species of bees has already become extinct!

March 31
send a green star

Jackie D.

10:50AM PDT on May 23, 2012

We certainly do not see many of them any more.
Jackie

May 23
send a green star

Laurie G.

5:46AM PDT on May 22, 2012

Thanks.

May 22
send a green star

Phillipa W.

5:15PM PDT on May 21, 2012

thanks

May 21
send a green star

Dave C.

2:29PM PDT on May 21, 2012

CCD= bad thing.....just remember NO HONEY BEFORE AGE 1.

Sandi C.

9:12AM PDT on May 21, 2012

noted!

Bob P.

7:34AM PDT on May 21, 2012

thanks for sharing

Shelly P.

6:15PM PDT on May 20, 2012

Say no to pesticides and Monsanto!!..Please & thankyou!!

May 20
send a green star

Ann F.

9:50PM PDT on May 18, 2012

We need to stop using pesticides immediately. Who knew they had even found a way to make fake honey?

I agree it should be a top priority for all Governments around the world to look after the bees we have and stop using (making) pesticides.

May 18
send a green star

Robin R.

2:48PM PDT on May 18, 2012

This is terrible. I knew bees were important to our ecosystem, but I had no idea that they were this essential to our survival. We need to stop using pesticides immediately. I buy honey at my local farmer's market and it is wonderfully tasty. I guess this is just another reason why we need to boycott the big companies. Who knew they even found a way to make fake honey?!?