Amal Al-Sibai Saudi Gazette For decades health proponents and environmentalists have been warning of the negative effects of the wide scale use of highly toxic pesticides. While some countries paid them no head, others have banned certain classes of pesticides. The idea many of us are unable to grasp is that air, water, land, and the living things in and on them are all connected. “Our natural world is a miraculous web of interconnectedness, and artificial disruption can have enormous unintended consequences,” said Elizabeth Cottrell, community leader with a major in biology. Environmentalists and researchers have predicted that the man-made disruption of the balance of ecosystems will have a damaging effect on living organisms, including humans. They were right. It is already happening; entire colonies of bees have been wiped out. If you thought that bees were annoying, buzzing, stinging insects and their survival is in no way linked to your own, think again. A dying bee population directly impacts the highest level on our food chain, posing a grave threat to human survival. No other single animal species plays a more significant role in producing the fruits and vegetables that humans consume on a daily basis. “One of every three bites of food eaten worldwide depends on pollinators, especially bees, for a successful harvest,” said Elizabeth Grossman in her report in Yale Environment 360. The majority of the planet's most important food crops worldwide depend on insect pollination. Healthy populations of wild bees are key to successful yields of crops ranging from pumpkins to grapefruit. Without bees, we would not find the delicious, nutritious fruits and vegetables that we take for granted at our neighborhood supermarket. Our favorite foods would be reduced by 50% with the continued decline in bee populations. In a recent report in Newsweek, Secretary of Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, stated that more than 130 fruits and vegetables that make up a nutritious diet are cross pollinated by honeybees. Commercial bees raised on farms and then shipped to other farms in the country used for pollination purposes along with wild bees are responsible for pollination of an estimated 80% of all food crops in the United States. Since 2006, beekeepers in the United States and Europe have been noticing that their honeybee populations have been dying off at increasingly rapid rates; with losses of 30% or higher of beehive populations each year. This year, due to colder, longer winters, beekeepers in the US lost 40% to 50% of their honeybee population. Researchers have been studying this phenomenon, which they have termed honeybee colony collapse disorder. According to a report by Joachim Hagopian published in Global Research, the cause of colony collapse disorder is a combination of factors, including widespread use of pesticides and fungicides, shrinking habitats, multiple viruses and parasites, poor nutrition, genetics, and possibly even cell phone towers. Recent studies show that the use of the pesticides called neonicotinoids is closely linked with the decline in bee populations. Neonicotinoids can lead to a sharp decline in queen bees in colonies and can interfere with the ability of bees to navigate back to their hives. When bees take the nectar and pollen from plants contaminated with this pesticide back to the hive, it creates a highly toxic living environment for all bees. Toxicity builds up, destroys the bees' central nervous system, causing further disorientation and even impairing bees' ability to fly. James Frazier, professor at Pennsylvania State University said that neonicotinoids may suppress the immune system of bees, making them more susceptible to diseases from viruses, parasites, and mites. Bees that contacted pollen contaminated with fungicides ended up three times more likely to get infected by a parasite. The European Food Safety Agency concluded that the pesticides represented a “high acute risk” to honeybees and other pollinators. Due to the gravity of the situation, last year the European Commission and also Australia imposed a two-year ban on neonicotinoids. Unfortunately, the US and many other countries did not follow suit. Another factor in the development of colony collapse disorder is the widespread use by beekeepers of feeding bee colonies with man-made high fructose corn syrup instead of its natural self-made honey. For maximum profit, bee farms sell all honey yields, not leaving any honey for the bees to consume. The hormones and enzymes found naturally in honey, in addition to its other nutritional advantages provide bees with increased immune defenses that can ward off parasitic and viral infections. In contrast, the manufactured high fructose corn syrup is believed to weaken the immune system of honeybees. Poor agricultural methods are making matters worse, as they disrupt the habitats that attract bees. In many areas of the world, due to the agricultural practice of growing only one cash crop, there are far less variety of plants now for bees to pollinate. Bees will not flourish where there exists less opportunity to transfer pollen because of a lack of diversity in plant vegetation. The same problem exists in many regions of the world. For example, the US states like Iowa and Nebraska were once high producers of honey. But in recent decades the agricultural industry's choice to maximize profit by planting corn and soybean crops instead of the rich alfalfa and clover fields that previously offered a healthy habitat for bee pollination has caused a steady decline in bee population. Additionally, fewer wildflower fields and other land space in general limit available healthy bee habitats. The agricultural industry needs to stop the use of pesticides such as neonicotinoids, and should adopt better agricultural methods. As a community, a family, and individual, there are a few things we can do to save the bees. A viable solution is to educate our local beekeepers and honey producing companies on bee-friendly practices. Some courses can be taken that teach and offer startup assistance to a growing number of hobbyists of all ages interested in beekeeping. We can talk to our municipality officials and local environmental organization about the importance of plant diversity in municipal gardens and green areas that will enhance both bee habitats and bee health. We can make informed choices and spend our money to buy honey only from responsible beekeepers that maintain the health of the bees and their natural habitats, and do not use high fructose corn syrup for feeding. You can plant flowers and other bee-friendly plants in your backyard, patio, balcony, garden, or at your neighborhood park. As Muslims, we have been encouraged by our Lord to contemplate and think about these tiny, amazing creatures. The importance of the bees to the ecosystem and human survival is evident in the following verses of the Holy Qur'an. {And your Lord inspired to the bee, “Take for yourself among the mountains, houses, and among the trees and [in] that which they construct. Then eat from all the fruits and follow the ways of your Lord laid down [for you].” There emerges from their bellies a drink, varying in colors, in which there is healing for people. Indeed in that is a sign for a people who give thought.} (chapter 16, verses 68 and 69)
