Editorial

Report points out vital role bees play in U.S. food supply

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Bring up "global warming" in a small town coffee shop and you'll experience everything from sudden silence to looks of disbelief to your friends suddenly remembering a need to pick up a few things at the hardware store.

Mention the EPA and you'll probably hear everything from a list of examples of unreasonable federal intervention to a profanity-laced diatribe unprintable in a family newspaper.

But even the most ardent opponent of government intervention is an environmentalist when it comes to needing fresh air to breath, clean water to drink and fresh, healthy food to eat.

That last requirement is the central point of a report, released Thursday, on a comprehensive report on honey bee health.

We can hear the snorts of derision already, and comparisons to the "snail darter" controversy in the early 1970s that held up the construction of a major dam in Tennessee.

But while most of us wouldn't know anything about the small fish if not for it being on the endangered species list, all of us depend on the honey bee, which plays a major part the pollination of plants that make our food supply possible. An estimated one-third of all food and beverages are made possible by pollination, mostly by honey bees. In the United States, pollination contributes to crop production worth $20 billion to $30 billion a year.

Farmers who depend on bees for pollination are getting less and less help from Mother Nature. From 1972 to 2006, there was a dramatic decline in the number of wild honey bees in the United States, to the point that they have virtually disappeared.

The number of domestic bees also declined to the point that in 2007, the term "colony collapse disorder" was created to describe the sudden disappearances of bees.

Thursday's report from the USDA and EPA was the result of a National Stakeholders Conference on Honey Bee Health, convened in October and involving federal researchers and managers as well as Pennsylvania State University.

Among the key findings:

* Colony Collapse Disorder involves chemical-resistant mites, and new virus species.

* U.S. honeybee colonies need increased genetic diversity to emphasize bees' ability to regulate body temperature, resist disease, worker productivity and hygienic behavior.

* Bees need better forage and variety in their diets to resist disease and parasites.

* Land management should maximize forage and keep bees away from pesticide-treated fields.

* Better collaboration and information sharing is needed.

* Additional research is needed to determine actual pesticide exposure and the potential for affecting bee health and productivity.

It's true that government has overstepped its bounds at times, and environmental policy is at time out of whack, responding to the cause du jour instead of balanced public interests.

But when it comes to protecting a vital link in our food supply, we need to find a way to work together.

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