Colony Collapse Disorder in Domesticated Bee Populations: Finding a way to balance our agricultural system to better accommodate our bees.

"There are certain pursuits which, if not wholly poetic and true, do at least suggest a nobler and finer relation to nature than we know. The keeping of bees, for instance."
~Henry David Thoreau

My last semester of my undergraduate studies at HPU is just around the corner.  I sit here contemplating about how much I have grown and learned about life and myself.  I sit here contemplating with anxiety and excitement about my near future.  Finding a favorite passion in life is a challenge for anyone.  For me, it has been especially difficult to find one specific aspect in environmental studies that I want to focus on during graduate school.  I believe I am getting closer and closer to finding this passion.  The main project for my anthropology class prompted me to study how our society can create a more balanced agricultural system in order to mitigate the phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in domesticated honeybee populations throughout the world.  There is a great possibility that I will continue studying this subject in graduate school, and possible write my thesis on this unsettling mystery.

Because CCD is a relatively recent phenomenon (the term was coined in 2006), there is a lot more research that needs to be done as scientists still don’t know the direct causes behind the mass bee die-offs.  Not only do the services that bees provide to civilization have great cultural and religious significance, they are the foundation of many ecosystems, agricultural industries, and the economies of the world.  The USDA states that 33 percent of the food that humans eat comes from crops pollinated by honeybees.  It is no wonder Albert Einstein said, “If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live …” 

CCD has been attributed to the synergistic effects of various factors including viral and bacterial pathogens, lack of genetic diversity, GMOs, stress, malnutrition, global warming, pesticides, and exposure to other agrochemicals and toxins occurring in the environment.  Exposure to the electromagnetic fields created by cell phones and cell phone towers has also been attributed with CCD. 

During my research, it was interesting to be reminded about how the technology developed during times of war and violence is the foundation of our current mainstream agricultural system.  Even though these chemicals have allowed us to grow food on a colossal scale, we are now discovering there viscous cycle.  With pesticides, beneficial insects that used to prey on pests die along with our pollinators.  With herbicides, the weedy flowering plants that bees rely on for pollen and nectar die.  The bees then leave the area because they simply have no food.  The toxic runoff from fertilizers and other agrochemicals impacts the immune systems of bees and other animals.  The pollen from GMO Bt crops is now toxic food for pollinators. 

Domesticated honeybees undergo significant amounts of stress as they are transported thousands of miles across the country in cold containers where they are fed a diet that of high fructose corn syrup pumped up with chemical nutrients.  This would be the equivalent of a significant portion of human’s diet exclusively consisting of power bars.  This physical and nutritional stress, alone, is enough to compromise a bee’s immune system.

So far, France is the only country that has been proactive by banning the import of these lethal pesticides call neonicotinoids.  Now other countries in Europe are working hard to petition to ban these chemicals from being applied to their crops.  The US has passed amendments to the Farm Bill, creating funding for the research of the potential causes of CCD and taking legal action when it comes to monitoring the movement of bee colonies throughout the country.  Unfortunately, many of these funds have yet to be allocated accordingly. 

I am looking forward to continuing my research about bees.  I am also looking forward to raising my own bees.  Now it is just a matter of retaking the GRE, getting accepted into grad school, and finding some way to pay for it.  In the mean time, I hope that farmers and individuals don’t wait for the lengthy processes of politicians and research to take action in how they apply chemicals to their crops and landscaping plants.  I think municipalities should grow more flowering plants throughout the entire growing season so that bees can have a continuous food source.  I think we should make the switch to organic farming and work to de-homogenize our farming system.