Although they’re great at it, bees don’t just make honey. Along with butterflies and hummingbirds, bees are one of the most important pollinators across the globe. We may not think about it often, but pollination is a fundamental process for the survival of our ecosystems. According to theUnited Nations, nearly 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend on animal pollination, along with more than 75% of food crops and 35% of global agricultural land.
Unfortunately these pollinators, bees included, are increasingly under threat from human activities. It is for this reason that the UN has designated May 20th as World Bee Day.
We all depend on pollinators and especially the bees that work so hard to bring us the delicious honey that we love. Hopefully by bringing some awareness to the dangers facing bees today, we can inspire action and support the continued health of bees across the world.
As described by the UN, present extinction rates for bees are 100 to 1,000 times higher than normal due to human impacts. Almost 35% of pollinators, including bees, face extinction globally. If this trend continues, crop variety and the balance of our own diets will be significantly impacted. Without the necessary pollination, nutritious crops such as fruits, nuts, and many vegetables, will be increasingly replaced by staple crops, unbalancing our diets. Currently the biggest contributors to this attack on biodiversity are intensive farming practices, mono-cropping, and the excessive use of pesticides.
As individuals we can:
What B Brothers Honey will do:
We all love bees - so in return for all the hard work they do for us, let’s show them that we care and help make World Bee Day something special!