Why Are Bees Dying?

But aren't bees in Asia also having problem?
Yes, but with the same species. There's a western species and an eastern species of honeybees. What we have in North America is the western species, imported from Europe. The western species is very, very productive, so it's been exported even into the native range of the eastern species. So you've got all of this global mixing going on.

Are we doomed?
The short answer is no. Human beings don't need honeybee pollination. Most of the plants that provide calories for the human population tend to be wind pollinated cereals, like wheat and corn and rice. But once you have an economy improving and the standard of living improving and the diet improving, you start seeing the introduction of meat and dairy products, and both of those require forage crops that are honeybee pollinated. When an economy starts improving, you start seeing melons, fruits, berries--all of these are bee pollinated. The point is, human survival does not depend upon honeybee pollination, but quality of life in a developed economy does.

So you can live without honeybee pollination, you just don't want to.
Compare the diets in a country like Canada, the United States, and Great Britain with diets in a country like Nigeria, Sudan, or Malaysia. You don't have the preponderance of meat and dairy and fruit and vegetables in developing countries like you do here. That difference is defined by bee pollination.

Is the economy defined by bee pollination, or is bee pollination defined by the economy?
That's really a chicken and egg question. What happens is when economies improve and diets improve and people want to eat better, that translates into bee pollinated crops. The way I see it, if we are interested in improving the quality of human life on planet Earth, then bee pollination must be a part of that formula. It goes hand in hand with economic development and nutrition enhancement. It is an integral part of the formula.

© 2008