We Need to Save the Bees!

            The world’s bee population is disappearing at such an alarming rate, that the world’s food supply potentially could collapse entirely.

We all eat some sort of fruits and vegetables, but what we are eating might not be as good for us, or the environment, as we believe.

I never really gave much thought to the fruits and vegetables I ate until I saw the documentary “The Vanishing Bees”. And then, a few months later I took a Nutrition class that took the subject to yet another level.

Pesticides are literally destroying the world, but there are some things we can do to avoid this dark fate.

I’m going to tell you about the cause of these problems, it’s effects, and what we can do differently to avoid the problem.

             First, I’m going to tell you about what is causing all of this to happen. Broad-spectrum pesticides damage all living cells, not just the pests that they are being used to control. Systemic pesticides are put on the seeds of plants, or used to treat the soil before planting. This causes the pesticide to become part of the plant for its entire life. You cannot wash it off. France, Italy, Germany and Slovenia have already banned the use of these. Topical pesticides build up in soil over time and are susceptible to runoff which poisons surrounding soils and waterways.

Now that I’ve told you a little about the cause of the problem, I’m going to tell you a little about the effects. Bees all around the world are disappearing by the millions due to colony collapse disorder, otherwise known as “mad bee disease” according to the documentary “Vanishing of the Bees”. When this happens, only the queen and some young bees are left in the hive. All of the other bees simply disappear. This phenomenon was later found to be caused by pesticides. If this continues the costs of foods would increase exponentially until there just isn’t anything left to sell.

In addition, pesticide and fertilizer runoff makes its way into our waterways. Time Magazine says that “[they work their way into the]  Mississippi River and down into the Gulf of Mexico, where they will help kill fish for miles and miles around”. These pesticides aren’t just bad for the environment. They are really bad for us too. Time Magazine goes on to say “Food is increasingly bad for us, even dangerous”. Frances Sizer and Ellie Whitney say “High doses cause birth defects, sterility, tumors, organ damage, and central nervous system [impairment]. Children and the elderly have lower tolerances.” in their text book “Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies”

Now that you know the problem, and the effects, I’m going to tell you about a couple solutions. What can we do differently? It’s actually pretty easy. Eat Organic. Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies says that organic foods are fertilized with composted animal manure or vegetable matter instead of synthetic fertilizers. Crop rotation, predatory insects, natural bacterial peptide toxin is used for pest management.

The British Columbian Ministry of Agriculture offers another solution called Integrated Pest Control (IPC). In this method, you only use chemicals when there is no other option and sufficient damages are unavoidable without it. They should only be used if the costs of the pesticides are more than offset by the amount of damages you avoid. Instead they say you should use cultural methods like crop rotation, use resistant plant strains, practice good sanitation, and use mechanical controls to fight pests.

The fact is that pesticides are very destructive, and there are safer ways of growing our food. I have told you about the pesticides causing these problems, the effects they have on us and the environment, and that we can choose to eat organic or use Integrated Pest Control to minimize the problem. I hope you will take this information into consideration when you are buying groceries or working in your garden. Thank you for your time.

References:

Environmental Fate of Pesticides. British Columbia’s Ministry of Agriculture. Retrieved April 18^th, 2012, from http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/pesticides/c_2.htm

Langworthy, G., Henein, M. (Producers) Langworthy, G. (Director). (2009). Vanishing of the Bees [Motion Picture]. UK: True Mind Studios.

Sizer, F.S., & Whitney, E.N. (2011). Nutrition: Concepts & Controversies. Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning.

Walsh, B. (Aug. 21, 2009). Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food. Time Magazine. Retrieved April 15, 2012, from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1917726,00.html