A third of what we eat depends on bees

Humanity has lived with bees for thousands of years. As farms grew, portable hives allowed bee populations to be moved to pollinate crops. Wild pollinators were replaced by managed colonies. Today, almost a third of the food we consume depends on these insects.

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Thousands of bees disappear

In 2006, American itinerant beekeepers began reporting colony disappearances. Thousands of bees were missing. The cause of this major crisis, called bee colony collapse disorder, has still not been identified, but every year a third of the American honeybee population does not make it through the winter.

Supply no longer meets demand

Bee-pollinated biofuel crops cover part of Europe's rural area. This developing sector is increasing the demand for pollinator bees as their population declines. If demand for food and fuel continues to increase, more and more land will be devoted to agriculture, reducing the natural habitats of natural pollinators.

Bee colony collapse syndrome spreads to Europe

As farm sizes increase, so does the use of pesticides and the number of hives needed for pollination. This increases the duration of their movements, which stresses the bees and weakens them. In addition, bees suffer from continued exposure to pesticides and diseases carried by other hives.

Farms struggle to pollinate their crops

If CCD continues to spread at the current rate and farms continue to grow in this way, demand for pollinators may at some point outstrip supply. With the increase in land to pollinate, the cost of renting hives will increase and so will the price of food.

Farms and agribusiness under threat

According to estimates, the disappearance of European bees could affect 30% of crops. Part of the agricultural land would then no longer be pollinated and the existence of many farms would be seriously threatened. Without alfalfa to feed livestock in winter, the meat and dairy industry could face difficulties. The failure of this sector could lead to food shortages and panic.

Food shortages and panic

Small farms rely on pollinators, such as bumblebees, or hand pollination. Foods once pollinated by bees would become scarce, expensive to produce and difficult to obtain. The damage to the agri-food sector could be terrible.


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