Next time you go to kill a bee, throw out a mango too. It turns out that with the decline of bees and other pollinators, the future of crops in Europe and America are at risk. Causes of habitat loss, climate change, pesticides pollution and others are to blame.
EUROPE AND AMERICA TO BLAME FOR MURDERING BEES
A recent study by a UN body, says that wild bees, butterflies, and other pollinators have been declining rapidly. Northwest Europe and North America are seeing the biggest decrease of bees, and it’s not just a stroke of bad luck. High levels of pollution, pathogens, invasive species and climate change are common in Europe and America. It’s murdering bees at a rapid rate.
BEE-WARE OF FOOD SHORTAGES
The IPBES, the UN body that looks after the state of ecosystems has stressed the importance that pollinators have on our food supply. According to them, if Europe and America want to have a healthy, constant supply of fruit and vegetables than it is vital we make adjustments. Between 5-8 percent of the world’s agriculture production is based on these insects. That’s roughly $235-577 billion worth of output per year. This could incur quite a dent in our financial environment as well as agricultural if we don’t keep the insect population in check.
THE FACTS
The details of the report state that 9% of bee and butterfly species are close to extinction in Europe and America. This is just out of the 37% of bees and butterflys that have sufficient data. Other places in the world may have close to 40% of species threatened. Similar data could be found in Asia and Africa, but an unfortuante data gap has left scientist in the dark. In terms of food, luckily, some of the most common staples of the world are not effected by pollination. This includes rice wheat and grains. What scientists are really concerned about are common, vulnerable fruits like apples, mangoes and yes, even chocoloate. In order to help reverse these effects, the IPBES is suggesting we put better policy in place. Policy that will help protect the envirnoment, get rid of pesticides and help rebuild the dying ecosystem.
