If Bees Die, What Happens To The Food Supply?

From: Survival Joe 

---

New Report Shows Honey Bee Population Still Declining Rapidly

In a new report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has revealed that honeybee losses in the U.S. totaled 23.2% last winter.

The report was produced by the U.S.D.A. in partnership with the Bee Informed Partnership and showed that the death rate of bees from October 2013 to April of 2014 was better than the 30.5% from 2012 to 2013… but worse than the 21.9% losses from 2011 to 2012.

The rate of bee population decline is shocking. Over the past 8 years, bee populations have declined on average 29.6% every year.

The losses have been so substantial that the U.S. government has declared the current rate of bee loss to be “economically unsustainable.”

The evidence suggests bee population decline is a result of colony collapse disorder where worker bees of American and European honey bee populations disappear without notice.

Over the past few years scientists and consumer advocate groups have begun to investigate the exact cause of colony collapse.

What they have found is the use of chemical pesticides is one of the main reasons — if not the main reason — for mass honeybee deaths.

However, when confronted with the growing mountain of evidence that their products are responsible for the decline in the bee population, companies like Monsanto, Bayer, DuPont and Syngenta reply that the real reason for honey bee losses come from natural causes like pathogens and mites.

Unfortunately, their claims just don’t match up. As the use of neonicotonoids (pesticides) increases, bee populations decrease. There’s no way around this clear connection.

“With the damning evidence mounting, pesticide companies can no longer spin their way out of this crisis,” said Michele Simon, a public health lawyer who specializes in food issues.

As bee populations decrease, the ability for humans to grow and harvest staple crops decreases as well.

As Yale University pointed out:

“One of every three bites of food eaten worldwide depends on pollinators, especially bees, for a successful harvest. And in the past several months, a scramble in California’s almond groves has given the world a taste of what may lie in store for food production if the widespread — and still puzzling — decimation of bee colonies continues.”

This is really bad news, especially considering the fact that the especially cold winter America saw this year has decimated surviving bee populations.