The Sweet Deal:
Honeybees provide us with honey, pollen, propolis, royal jelly and bees wax. When raw and un-pasteurized, they are nutrient dense and exhibit an amazing array of health benefits. They boost energy and enhance the immune system with anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. But the bee's gifts to humanity don't stop there. We are indebted to them and their tireless work for most of the foods we put on our plates every day. For over 100 million years bees have been doing their thing; pollinating crops, securing bio-diversity in plants, gifting us with plentiful and nutritionally powerful food sources.
The Players:
Bees are a perfect blend of form and function. Their bodies are uniquely designed to travel long distances, pollinate plants, store and bring their bounty (and driving directions) back to the hive. They have a keen sense of direction, and are able to share this with their hive mates via an intricate dance. Think of it as "Map Quest" for bees, or should that be "Pollen Quest"?
The Problem:
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is the term describing the declining bee populations worldwide. Farms and bee-keepers have found themselves going into bankruptcy due to declining hive numbers, with bees infected and dying from overexposure to our increasingly toxic planetary environment. This isn't just bad news for those working directly with bees, it also has far-reaching consequences for each and every one of us - now, and into the future.
Bees are up against an increasingly larger array of concerning factors worldwide. They are suffering from many of the same things we are. Research is showing us very clearly that as the bees go, so do we. Numerous culprits are responsible for the decline in hive vitality. Pesticides, fungi, viruses, parasites and a variety of toxins are, perhaps separately and definitely in combination, taking their toll on the bees.
If there is anything good that has come from CCD it is that the spotlight has been placed on the situation. Extensive studies are underway to address the problems currently facing bees, and measures are being taken to keep them healthy. Not to mention that we humans are becoming more aware of our actions affecting their health.
The Solution:
Bee-come aware. We live in an increasingly global community with far-reaching effects and consequences. It is crucial that we are aware of our habits and how our actions and choices affect the world we live in.
If you are satisfied with a diet consisting of wheat, corn and rice on your table (i.e. non-pollinated crops), then by all means ignore the problem. Nutritionally speaking that would be bad news, for all of us. For just as science has confirmed that getting more, not less, of the health-giving benefits of an abundant and varied diet (from crops requiring pollination by bees) is ideal for us humans, we are faced with not having them available at all.
Unless you want to pollinate your crops yourself (and it isn't as easy as the bees make it look!), it is important that you take steps to a) become more aware of the current situation, and b) support the bees in any way you can. With a little care and tending, bees do a job that takes humans 100 times the effort to accomplish. There is no good substitution for animal pollination, and NOTHING works as efficiently as a bee.
Bees = cross pollination = crop diversity/abundance = healthy and tasty food on our plates.
If you still want to have flowers, fruits, vegetables and nuts available in your lifetime and for generations to come (in your pantries/refrigerators/garden plots) please do your part.
What will happen if we ignore the problem and continue to pollute our environment as we have for the past several decades? Do you really want to find out?
How you can help:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/how-can-you-help-the-bees/36/
Welcome to whatsyourpop!
This site is intended to be a place to share your passions and your purpose with a broader audience. It is also a reminder to all of us to grow more conscious about our lives and our presence here on planet Earth.
I would like to extend to you an invitation to join me in both posing and answering the question, "What's your purpose on the planet?"
If you haven't yet defined what your purpose is, perhaps this is a good time to think about it? Consider what are your strengths and combined experiences, and what you'd like to achieve or do during your 'stay' here on planet Earth.
What's Your Purpose On the Planet?
http://www.whatsyourpop.com/
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