When I was younger bees scared me. I would freeze every time one came near me, trying not to think about how much I wanted to strike that bee down so it couldn't hurt me. Or how much I wanted to run around flinging my arms like an octopus out of control to get it away from me. Then, I grew up and learned about them. I learned some very important bee facts and why I needed to coexist with them for my own survival on Earth.
Why We Need Bees and Other Bee Facts
Bees are the life source of the food that humans eat. We can thank bees and other pollinators for the food on our dinner plates in the evenings. Without bees and other pollinators such as butterflies, birds, and bats, we lose more than just the flowers that look so gorgeous during the spring and summer.
Bee Fact #1... 1 out of every 3 bites of food you eat is thanks to pollinators. So, if there were no more pollinators left, you would have less food on your plate.
Bee Fact #2... at least 180,000 plant species and 1,200 crops need pollination to grow. So, if there were no more pollinators left these plant species and crops would have a hard time surviving. This means less food for you.
Pollinators do more than just help humans with food resources. They give us fruits, vegetables, nuts, spices, medicines, dyes, wood, oils, fibers, and animal feed. Think of all the things that humans make out of these. What if the pollinators vanished? We would have fewer of these things if any at all, which means fewer things for us.
Humans have to coexist with bees and other pollinators for survival. If we don't, we are going to lose out on a lot of things that we love and enjoy.
What's Happening To All The Bees
There are many reasons why bees are declining but here I'll talk about the major two, industrial agriculture and neonic pesticides.
Industrial agriculture is an intensive large-scale production of crops and animals. These are the places that are mostly using chemicals and pesticides on the plants they produce. Likewise, they are responsible for giving animals harmful antibiotics to make up for the nasty conditions they place these animals in.
Neonics, Neonicotinoid, is an insecticide that affects the nervous system of pollinators and other bugs to produce paralysis and death.
So, we have industrial agriculture that is destroying ecosystems and habitats because of its large-scale production. I mean... they take away LARGE CHUNKS of land to run these joints. AND... they are responsible for the use of neonics to kill pests. Unfortunately, they are also killing pollinators and other species in the process.
It's a lose-lose for bees and other pollinators. Their habitats are being taken away so they have no place to live. Their clean food sources are being taken away so they starve. And if they do find something to pollinate, they die because of the neonics that are sprayed on them.
This is what is causing the decline of bees and other pollinators and it will eventually cause the decline of our foods and other things that we rely on. There go our natural food sources.
Point to ponder... if we don't do something about this problem, our foods will all be genetically modified. You will not be eating real foods. These chemicals that are sprayed change the DNA of these plants. Do you really want to be eating fake food?
What Can You Do To Help?
The first step is to make your voice heard. Write to your big chain supermarkets and tell them how you feel about the situation and why it needs to be taken care of. Those are the people with a lot of power. Those are the people who can make some SERIOUS change happen.
Those supermarkets can create policies to stop selling food grown with neonics. This means these big companies that sell this stuff and the industrial farmers will make less money OR maybe start listening to what people want.
Tell your supermarkets to start supporting sustainable farming by continuing to increase organic and local produce. This not only puts money back into your community but it makes the food you are putting into your body better for you.
The next step is to do your research.
Point to ponder... The European Union and Canada have already banned the use of neonics. Why don't we start asking why? A whole country doesn't just ban something for no reason. Lowe's, Home Depot, and Ace Hardware have already banned plants grown with neonics. Why would they do that? Look it up. Do your research.
The last thing you can do is support the farmers who are transitioning to sustainable methods by buying their produce. These farmers are trying to do the right thing but they need your help. They need our help so the bigger companies will not sell them out. So support your sustainable farmers and support the stores that ban neonics such as Lowe's.
When we make our voices heard, do our research, and support sustainable practices... it speaks volumes to those businesses. It's a business-minded corporation... all they want to do is to make money but what happens when they stop making money because we have stood up!
It is imperative that we coexist as humans and animals for the survival of all. If not, we are going to be living in a wasteland. And how sad would that be for the generations to come?
Imagine...
I want you to imagine a world without chocolate, coffee, berries, cotton, trees, and vanilla. Because that is the kind of path we are headed down.
Change starts with us. And it's time to step up and make one.
Ashley
Owner of SustainaBrain
Brain Health Coach