Most of us have a problem with bees. No one wants to get stung. Personally, I am allergic to bees and have to carry an epi-pen with me at all times, so I have a greater fear than most people.
Bees and other pollinators are so important to our lives. Pollination is defined as the process by which pollen is transferred from the anther (male part) to the stigma (female part) of the plant, thereby enabling fertilization and reproduction. This takes place in flower-bearing plants. If reproduction doesn’t take place, then the species disappears. All vegetation needs to be pollinated. Think about a world without vegetation on our planet. There would be no more fruits and vegetables, trees and grass, or animals. The vegetable-eating animals would have nothing to eat. That means no more cows, sheep, goats, and pigs, or wild animals like deer, moose, bison, rabbits, or elk. All the meat-eaters would disappear because there would be no animals for them to eat in order to survive. We are hearing now about fish being depleted because of over fishing (just check out the price of fish at your local market– is it a coincidence?)
Equally as important, vegetation is a part of the oxygen cycle. To simplify the explanation the main driving factor of the oxygen cycle is photosynthesis, which is responsible for the Earth’s life-sustaining atmosphere. If there were no plants to take part in the carbon dioxide/ oxygen production cycle (photosynthesis), there would be no air for air-breathing creatures to breathe and all (including humans, of course) would die of carbon dioxide poisoning.
So, if bees and other pollinators did not pollinate the vegetation, the food we eat would be gone, the oxygen would be gone and our planet would die. This would happen if our pollinators were eliminated by pesticides. Most people don’t think that the little honey bee is very important but our cycle of life depends on this little creature. We are at a critical moment in the fight to save bees. The word is that the White House Pollinator Health Task Force may announce its Federal strategy to protect the nation’s vital pollinators in just a few weeks – let’s make sure they follow through with swift and meaningful action to protect honey bees and other pollinators. It’s past time for the United States to step up and curb the impacts of bee-toxic pesticides (like “neonics”) from killing more bees and contaminating our environment. It is unacceptable for the Environmental Protection Agency to continue dragging its feet by not taking meaningful action on this issue. They are considering merely updating pesticide labels and encouraging states to adopt their own pollinator protection plans which are not nearly enough. Bees and other pollinators have been increasingly exposed to these toxic pesticides long enough – we need action NOW to stop the harm of bee-killing pesticides.
Pollinators have already suffered enough at the expense of toxic pesticides.
If you are interested in encouraging pesticide reduction/elimination, contact the Center for Food Safety, www.centerforfoodsafety.org or 202.547.9429.
This article is inspired and taken from a recent Center for Food Safety email on this subject.