Flight of the Bumblebee

I’ve been tasked this quarter to blog about a topic of deep interest to me.  There are a lot of things I feel passionate about and my dilemma became which topic to choose.  Should I discuss the downfalls of our financial industry?  Should I take a deep dive into animal welfare and rights?  The self-esteem issues our beauty industry promotes is disturbing and maybe I could shed more light why that industry needs to improve?  After much deliberation, I decided this quarter I will focus on the importance of organic gardening and farming. 

Why organic gardening and farming?  Well it mostly comes down to the importance of healthy and nutritious food.  Food fuels us and access to healthy and nutritious food is a cornerstone to our well-being and development.  Studies have shown that “traditional” farming methods that the use pesticides and synthetic fertilizers affect our food's nutrition and are also harmful to our environment and disrupt beneficial eco-systems.  Organic farming and home gardening represent a deeper respect for the soil and plants as it focuses on using natural solutions to control issues that we so commonly look towards bottled products to solve.   

So let me give you a little taste of the type of topics I plan to cover…

Pesticide use became popular as it is a means to control insects that damage our food crops.  But what about all those beneficial insects that get caught up in the pesticide crossfire?

Have you ever stopped to watch a bumble bee buzzing around in a flower?  Have you ever noticed that when it comes out, it’s covered with little specks of pollen? It’s actually kind of cute to the fuzzy little thing covered in the fruits of its labor.  We've all heard about the decline in bee populations through some sort of news source but what does this all mean?  Why should everyone be concerned about the disappearance bees? The simple answer is because we all need to eat.

All the experts agree that the decline in bee populations have had a devastating effect on the agricultural industry.  According to the USDA, bees pollinate 80 percent of flowering crops that make up 1/3 of everything we eat.  Losing bees would not only affect common foods such as apples, broccoli, strawberries, nuts, asparagus, blueberries and cucumbers, but may threaten our beef and dairy industries if alfalfa is not available for feed.  Although multiple causes are sited, most of the experts agree that pesticides have at a minimum added to the decline of bee colonies (also known as Colony Collapse Disorder).  In fact the European Union has seen enough evidence to support the damaging effects of pesticide use on bees and recently banned the use of certain types of pesticides.   

The use of pesticides and how they harm bees is quite complex.  Studies conducted by the European Food Safety Administration (EFSA) found that pesticides frequently appear in the nectar and pollen of plants. Bees not only have to fear being sprayed by pesticides but also have to fear ingesting these chemicals via their food supply as well.  The research shows that pesticides damages a bee’s ability to return to its hive, decreases the number of queens that a hive breeds each year, and increases a bee’s susceptibility to disease.  All of these factors have led to the 50% drop in honeybee numbers in the last quarter century.

So what can we do as individuals to help bees? Mother Nature Network lays out a great plan to help make your life a bit more bee friendly.  These simple things are great ways to increase our reliance on organic gardening and less so on those toxic methods currently being practiced.  

Save the bees! 

No, seriously, save the bees!