Vanishing of the Bees

If you want to understand the reality of the current bee crisis from the beekeeper’s perspective, Vanishing of the Bees is a must watch.There are many nuanced topics in the video including debates on commercial versus organic beekeeping or whether it’s appropriate to use insecticides to treat for varroa mites. But the most eye opening topic, for me, goes to the heart of modern agriculture practices and systemic pesticides – practices that aren’t necessarily driven by farmers.

The video documents how a complicit EPA relies on industry supplied research to vet a systemic pesticide. Systemic pesticides are included in the seed and stays with the corn, soybean, sunflower, etc, for the life of the plant. In the “good ole days” of pesticide application, the chemicals were applied topically, and beekeepers could keep their colonies out of the way of the sprayer. Systemic pesticides change that and ensure bees always forage on pesticides. As the video reveals, commercial beekeepers are saying the continued foraging on sub-lethal doses delays colony collapse disorder by months, separating the cause and effect relationship.

Bayer, the chemical company getting the most sting, says the pesticides don’t deliver a lethal dose of pesticides to the bees as they forage on a flower of a plant treated with systemics. The questions, Bayer can’t answer and probably don’t want to answer are what effects do the systemics have on the brood (young bees) and what are the cumulative effects of sub-lethal exposure?

And while we’re at it, shouldn’t we be asking those questions about our own health? Check out the trailer to Vanishing of the Bees or buy or watch Vanishing of the Bees Now (Amazon affiliate link).