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Bees: The Threatened Link in Food Security
National Radio Project / Radio Program
Published: Thursday 22 September 2011
As the world’s population continues to grow, so does our reliance on honey bees.
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Honey bees help pollinate 1 in every 3 bites that we eat… They are vital in our agricultural industry and essential for the survival of the almost 7 billion people who inhabit this planet. And, as the world’s population continues to grow, so does our reliance on honey bees. Unfortunately, most pollinating insects throughout the world are endangered today, including the honey bee. On this edition, we’ll discuss the honey bee’s fight to survive amidst a rapidly changing landscape filled with pesticides and parasites. We will also learn the latest about colony collapse disorder and hear from beekeepers, researchers, and gardeners who are trying to protect them.
Featuring:
Hannah Nordhaus, author of the Beekeepers Lament- How One Man and Half a Billion Honey Bees Help Feed the World; Gretchen Lebuhn, San Francisco State University professor & founder of The Great Sunflower Project; John Miller, migratory beekeeper; Brian Johnson, University of California, Davis’s entomology professor; Bill Rhodes, David Hackenberg, beekeepers; Dee Lusby, Organic Beekeeping discussion group founder; Dennis Van Engelsdorp, Penn State University entomology scientist; Vince Rosato, Great Sunflower project participant; Khaled Almaghafi, beekeeper & Bee Healthy Honey Shop owner.
Special thanks to the producers of Vanishing of The Bees and Claire Schoen.
For More Information:
The Beekeeper’s Lament: How One Man and Half a Billion Honey Bees Help Feed America
Harry Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California at Davis
Articles, Blogs, Reports and Videos:
EU bans GM-contaminated honey from general sale
Globalisation and agriculture industry exacerbating bee decline, says UN
As bee colonies die, beekeepers face challenge finding replacements
Asian Honey, Banned in Europe, Is Flooding U.S. Grocery Shelves
A STICKY BUSINESS: Dakota’s Busy Beekeepers
As honeybees decline, beekeeping booms By Candace Krebs
Forget climate change – the bees are buzzing off
How sweet it is – The economics of beekeeping in Oakland
Music:
Everybody Loves the Sunshine – Roy Ayers
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4 comments on "Bees: The Threatened Link in Food Security"
This a case of death by a 1000 cuts. It's not one factor that is leading to the demise of honeybees & other insect pollinators. Mites, pesticides that infiltrate pollen, colony collapse disorder & other viruses, habitat & climate change- the list goes on. As a long timr beekeeper I can tell you it's not Bambi & Thumper out there.
October 18, 2011 2:23pm
I wonder if the bees are getting a sort of AIDS
from the combination pesticides
and the corn sugar they are fed ?
. at least our most important crops are safe:
beans and seaweed do not require bees .
September 22, 2011 6:51pm
Monsanto GMO BT kills insects... bees included. The Global Elite want to drastically reduce the human population. It seems that they think they can depopulate and deforest the world, then repeople and reseed it to their liking.
September 22, 2011 12:48pm
And, we're cutting environmental regulation? That's really bright, huh?