What are the implications for
humans (and honey bees?)
“If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth,
man would have no more than four years to live. No
more bees, no more pollination... no more men!”
No more
humans?
• Change in diet, but not
human extinction
• Major food crops (wheat,
rice, and corn) wind
pollinated
• Third of food crops bee
pollinated, but only some of
these are highly dependent
upon honey bees (for
example, almonds)
Rethinking the discourses about
CCD and bee decline
•
They have often employed a greedy reductionist strategy –
fixation on isolating a single cause often accompanied by
exaggerated claims of the negative consequences of not
doing so.
Pests identified as cause of
CCD
The pest explanation: viral pathogen
interacting with a fungal organism and
varroa mite causes CCD
Chemicals identified as cause of
CCD
Rethinking the narratives about
CCD and bee decline
•
Both pests and pesticides contribute to CCD.
Isolating a single cause oversimplifies many other
factors and issues. There is the need to address the
problems neonicotinoids and pests, but one should
also look at more foundational causes.
•
“Dying bees have become symbols of environmental
sin. By engaging in simplistic and sometimes
misleading environmental narratives, by exaggerating
the stakes and brushing over the inconvenient facts
that stand in the way of foregone conclusions, we do
a disservice” (Nordhaus, 2010)
“If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth,
man would have no more than four years to live. No
more bees, no more pollination... no more men!”
Less simplistic narratives about
CCD and bee decline
• Declines in honey bees in U.S. since World War 2
• Rise of global middle class and demand for luxury
crops
• Impacts of honey bee decline on human health will
depend upon level of ‘hidden’ hunger
• High prices for honey bee pollination services
creates lock-in of conditions that cause die offs
• Evidence of other bee declines in the past
• Other factors than CCD more relevant for day-today work of beekeepers
More bee-dependent luxury crops
underlie shortage of bees
Honey bee shortage driven by 300% increase (since
1950’s) in the amount of bee-dependent “luxury” crops
Demand for luxury crops driven by
affluence of new global middle class
• Increased disposable
income
• Globalization brings greater
diversity of imported
specialty crops
• Healthy eating prioritized
over meeting basic caloric
needs
• High antioxidant, vitamin
rich and often beedependent foods desired
http://www.almonds.com
• Result is a lack of honey
bees to meet demand
Long term decline of honey
bees in U.S.
• Five million honey
bees at the end of
World War 2
• Honey production
outsourced to
countries that can
make it more cheaply
• Fewer beekeepers
domestically, although
there are issues
arising from honey
imports
Honey can be produced more cheaply in China and India. North American bee
keepers stopped producing honey when honey imports began. The figure above
shows US imports rising since the 1960’s
International honey trade
• Lower price undercuts
American honey
producers
• Quality control an
issue
• Perpetuates many of
the conditions that
may be part of bee
decline
International honey laundering
Nutrition is an ecosystem
service of honey bees
Fewer bees could impact availability of
some vitamin-rich plant foods
• 50% of plant sources of vitamin
A require bee pollination
• Disruptions in pollination have
public health implications in
some regions
• Annually vitamin A deficiency
causes 800,000 deaths in
women and children.
• Doubles risk of mortality from
common conditions like
measles, diarrhea, and
malaria, increases the risk of
maternal mortality
Hidden hunger – imbalanced
availability of macronutrients (fats,
protein, and/or carbohydrates)
and essential micronutrients
(vitamins and minerals). Can
cause nutrient-deficiency
conditions as well as weaken the
immune system, stunt
development, and increase
mortality from other diseases.
Hidden hunger
Although calcium and iron are absorbed more efficiently from meat and dairy
sources, those foods are not available to all people due to high cost.