WHAT'S HAPPENING TO OUR BEES?

Photo by S. Auberle

The following is an article on a topic that much distresses me. Not only for its implications, but because of the horrifying way in which it shows, yet again, how egotistical man and science believe that the earth's creatures are less than us, that they are put here only for our use. I've read quite a bit on this subject recently, but in one short article this says it all. Please read...

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"Bees are dying. Dying all across America. Lots and lots of bees.

Starting in Florida last fall, the great bee die-off has spread to 24 states. Whole colonies are dying. In Western states, commercial beekeepers report up to a 60% loss of their bees, with losses at 70% in Texas and on the East Coast. It's unprecedented.

Who cares? Well, few people realize that many of America's food crops--from almonds to watermelon--rely heavily on commercial honeybees for pollination. No bees, no fruit. One study finds that these bees pollinate every third bite of food that we consume.

Another little known fact is that bee pollination is increasingly a highly concentrated industry. Rather than a dispersed system of local hives, a few commercial operators now haul tens of billions of bees from coast to coast, trucking their hives in 18-wheelers.

"Colony Collapse Disorder," as it's now called could be the result of this industrialized model of pollination. First, the bees themselves have been bred into single-purpose super-pollinators, rather than bees with multiple functions (make honey, feed the queen, maintain the hives, and extend the species). The industrial bees have lost the diversity and natural traits of wild bees.

Second, constant trucking puts stress on the bees, suppressing their immune systems and making them vulnerable to viruses, mites and diseases. Also, as part of their forced migration, the bees are fed a limited diet of high fructose corn syrup--about as healthy as humans trying to live on Cokes. Other research is indicting certain pesticides and genetically altered organisms that have been artificially spliced into many field crops.

Once again, we have the heavy hand of mankind messing with Mother Nature in ways that come back to mess with us--big time. It's not just bees these food indutrialists are messing with--it's our food supply."

- Jim Hightower

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For more information on Jim Hightower's work--and to subscribe to his award-winning monthly newsletter, the "Hightower Lowdown"--visit www.jimhightower.com.