Disappearing Honey Bees

Ingredients Magazine covered Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in Issue 7, Winter 2012 , and it was bad enough then. Unfortunately, it turns out that the problem is getting worse. This year, there is a serious shortage of bees available to pollinate the almond blooms in California, and that is a serious threat to the entire world's almond supply. The above article from Occupy Monsanto puts it thusly:

"Bee brokers, beekeepers and almond growers around the state say there’s a shortage of healthy honeybees for this year’s pollination, especially after colony collapse disorder took a higher toll this winter. "

Which spells trouble for more than just the almond growers. Without bees, we don't have any fruit, vegetables or flowers anywhere. Now, we can speculate all day about what the true cause of CCD is--personally, I'm on board with what a friend of mine said in reference to the issue today on Facebook: that's what happens when plants make their own pesticides--but arguing isn't going to get us anywhere.

So let's just face it: the majority of crops that bees are exposed to on a large scale have been genetically modified to one end or another, most likely specifically to ward off a type of bug that just won't be stopped any other way. And even if the plant itself isn't a GMO, chemical pesticides and fertilizers used to grow it aren't good for you, and either form of manipulation is definitely not good for the honey bee. 

There are things that you can do to help the honey bee, though, and the really good news about that is the ways in which you can help them enable them to help you! This article in particular, from Mother Nature Network, outlines some really simple ways in which you can make your garden honey bee friendly. Bonus! Annoying buzzers like wasps and yellow jackets aren't attracted to bee-friendly plants. My husband is going to be happy about that :)