Explaining the Buzz About Honey Bees

Written by Pat's Papers | Thursday, 25 March 2010 9:11 AM

I’ve been reading about the drastic decline of honey bees and the apocalyptic side effects it will have on the world’s food supply for years. Today, on the opinion page of the New York Times, two bee experts finally set the record straight about what is actually going on. In a nutshell, the agricultural crops, like corn and wheat, that make up most of the world’s food supply are not dependent on bee to pollinate them, meaning a decrease in the overall population wouldn’t really affect us. But it would greatly affect the production of other luxury crops like apples and avocados, in which pollination by wild bees is an essential part of the growing process. And therein lies the paradox: “Our demand for these foods endangers the wild bees that help make their cultivation possible.”

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