Why are Bees Buzzing Off?

It's not very common for people to be extremely fond of bees (other than your cool beekeeper friends). Most people at the mention of bees would look wildly around them and check their hair in fear of getting stung. Well, we have a lower chance of getting stung now- which is not a good thing.

50% of the Midwestern native bee species has disappeared in the last century while in the last 2 decades 4 of the bumblebee species has declined by 96%. These alarming statistics have come to light in the last few years and also point towards a bleak future for the food security of humans.

Bees among other animals such as butterflies, beetles and birds help in the process of pollination. This process helps the transfer of pollen from one flower to the other, helping plants grow and reproduce. Bee pollination helps grow vegetables, nuts, fruits and wildflowers. This process is responsible for almost $200 billion worth agricultural revenue. Every third bite we take in a day comes from the pollination of bees or some other generous pollinator. Apples, oranges, blueberries and many of our favourite delicious fruits and vegetables can be credited to the hard work of the bees.

In the last few years the bees have fallen prey to what is called a "Colony Collapse Disorder" which refers to the mass disappearance of the worker, adult bee population from bee hives. Why is this happening? Scientists are still working on investigating this phenomenon however several factors have so far been presented as a possible explanation to the problem. Pesticides, in particular neonicotinoids seem to be playing a role. This class of pesticides is causing bees to have navigation problems as it attacks their nervous systems. Contact with the pesticide has resulted in mass deaths of bees.

The Varroa mite parasite is also playing a role since they attack the beehives itself. Additionally, the nutrition of the bees has been threatened due to habitat loss. Increasingly we are growing crops that cater more to our food preferences rather than flowers and other wild plants, which bees depend on to collect pollen for their hives.

Last but not the least, climate change has played a role since it has been found that flowers have started blooming earlier or later than expected in the last few years. After coming out of hibernation the pollinators have started finding that the flowers that provide nutrition for them to start the season, have already bloomed.

It will be a huge burden on the remaining pollinators to carry out the responsibilities of the bees, if they were to disappear. This occurrence is one of the many negative outcomes that our current chemical-intensive industrial agriculture practices have produced. Ecological farming has been proposed as one of the front-runners on providing a solution to the problem in question. It will promote habitat restoration and also ensure better nutrition from the food that we eat. The pesticide industry is a powerful player and there are a lot of political and economic factors that have led to the situation we currently face.

Organic farming is gaining popularity by the day however needs to reach a stage where it no longer caters to a niche market but a more robust consumer base which challenges and overturns the current toxic methods of food production.

The Predator

During my time at Monash, I met quite a few people outside of uni who asked me what I was studying. When I responded that I'm doing environmental management, some chuckled "Oh you're on your way to becoming a Greenie and spreading rumours about the world ending!". I chuckled back and wondered to myself when and how people's notions of climate change will change. You might be surprised how many people still think of climate change as a still from the movie 2012 (2 hours of my life I'll never get back).

One of the reasons people want to inherently dismiss climate change is due to their guilty bias. The primary discussion on climate change is how it has been brought about by the actions of humans. Naturally, we immediately defend ourselves and dismiss the idea altogether. Besides, people get bored when they hear about the long time-frames and "faraway" places associated with climate change. They don't see the urgency to take action now. Unfortunately this is the very reason why the situation is worsening.

Where's the proof that global warming is caused by humans and not just due to natural changes of the earth? The start of the growth of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere almost directly coincides with the start of the industrial revolution and increase in CO2 almost exactly correlates with the increase in the cumulative anthropogenic emissions.

Another staggering impact of human activities is the sixth mass extinction we might be entering, a recent study has found.

The earth has seen 5 mass extinctions before. The biggest of them all was the Permian mass extinction, which wiped out 96% of the planet's species. The last mass extinction is well known since it wiped out the dinosaurs in as few as three human lifetimes.

The current mass extinction might be the first of its kind, where the catastrophe is being brought upon by a single species alone, namely homo sapiens. We haven't even left the oceans alone. Our activities are destroying ecosystems in every corner of the planet. With extinction rates ten times higher the normal rate, we have really gotten our fellow living beings into trouble.

Even with all the progress we have made, we have failed. Poaching, whaling, furthering our own interests has led these beings looking at a bleak future.

Life is lonely for the the last male Northern White Rhino and many others. We can't do much about the past but we certainly can resolve that our presence does not directly correlate with the absence of others.

Circle of Life

It was a long drive from Hillston, a regional town in NSW to Sydney. I had my headphones on, with music blaring in my ears, till I caught notice of the massive truck in front of our car. It was packed with sheep from head to toe. I could not see an inch of space between them. Wondering how they were coping with the claustrophobic environment, I suddenly noticed one of them, at the edge of the truck. With its left leg stuck outside, it was desperately trying to free itself from the bars of the cage it was trapped in. It kept trying to shake its leg off to relieve itself of the pain the awkward position must be causing it. I watched horrified, almost disgusted that I was promoting this industry. I was party to animals being ruthlessly transported from one place to the other, to be slaughtered for someone's afternoon meal.  I never spared one thought of guilt at any point of my childhood, to re-think what my lifestyle choices must be doing to other living beings. However that one incident really shook me up. I looked it up and was relieved I wasn't the only one perturbed about the way these poor animals were being transported http://www.stopliveexports.org/

The way the animals are being transported, is not one of the only concerns. The conditions in which they are made to wait for their end is another.

Family and friends were a bit taken aback when I told them that I am trying to transition towards being a vegetarian. I have a reputation of being a hardcore foodie, barely ever filtering any kind of food that I would say no to. I am currently trying to be vegetarian for small blocks of time. I am certain many of my friends would laugh, but being vegetarian for a month was a big commitment for a foodie like me. I am currently on day 10 and I can definitely say it's not that bad!

Whenever I would bring up the morality issue of eating animals to my parents, they would bring up the age old argument of the "circle of life" (they totally stole that from Lion King). I was too hungry to even argue and would dig into my chicken without a bat of an eyelid. However as years passed by, I began questioning this argument. Sure, it would apply to lions in a jungle, as this is the only source of food they know. However, does the same apply to us?

Don't we have enough options to sustain a balanced diet, which would provide us with the strength and nutrition to live a long and healthy life? Yes we do. Which is why, I am going to put it in all my efforts to evolve towards a vegetarian lifestyle. If you are struggling with trying to make the switch, learn about how it will benefit you here: http://time.com/9463/7-reasons-vegetarians-live-longer/

Disclaimer: I did not write this blog to make all the non-vegetarians feel bad, but simply to discuss the issue :). You may not wish to change your diet but I would encourage you to support the causes of stopping animal cruelty in transportation, slaughter houses and others. I myself may not be able to radically change to a vegetarian diet, however the first step is the hardest. The best part is finding out that the grass is still greener on the other side, and that you still have plenty of "fun" options in a vegetarian meal. Think chocolate!