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Bees&OurFood-Dedicatetheconversa/onaroundyourdinnertabletohoneybees,thepollinatorsresponsibleforoneineverythreebitesoffoodweeat.Whateveryou'reea/ngfordinner,chancesare,beeshelpedcreatemuchofwhatyou’llbesharingatyourtable.Beesandotherpollinatorsplayakeyroleinprovidingamajorityoffoodforpeoplearoundtheworld.Butbeesareintrouble;since2006,theyhavebeendyingoffindrovesintheU.S.,inpartduetoincreasedexposuretosystemicandotherpes/cides.Withoutenoughpollinators,cropyieldsdiminishandthevarietyoffoodswe’reabletogrowdrops sharply.We invite you to take the opportunity to celebrate the variety and abundancemadepossiblebythesenobleandnecessarycreatures.
It'ssimple:invitefriendsandfamilyoverforamealandreflectonthevariouswayswerelyonbeesfordailynourishment.Howdo they impactyour life?Whatcanwedo tohelp themsurvive thecurrentcrisistheyface?
Herearesomebroadideastoexploreatyourdinnertable:
Wheredoesyourfoodcomefrom?Whatmemoriesdoyouassociatewithyourfavoritefoods?Wereyourfavoriterecipesinventedbyyourimmediatefamily,ordotheygobackgenera/ons?Wheredoyouusuallybuyyouringredients?Haveyouevertriedgrowinganyofthesefoods?Whatkindsofinsectshelpyourfavoritefoodsgrow?Couldthesefoodsgrowwithoutpollinators? Whatareyourbeeexperiences?Doyouhavechildhoodmemoriesof
bees?Haveyoueverseenahoneybeeinthegardenorahive?Howdoyouusehoneyinyourcooking?Doyouknowanyonewho’skeepingbees?Atthis
pointinyourlifecyclewhatkindofbeewouldyoube?Dronebee,nursebee,security-guardbee,hive-cleanerbee,workerbee,Queenbee-maybeabumblebee,leaf-cuRerbee?Whyarebeesimportanttoourfood?Whatdoesabeedo?Whatispollina/onandwhyisitimportantforplants?Whatarethefoodsinyourkitchenthatrelydirectlyonbeepollina/on?Trytolisttenitemsinyourkitchenthatdon’trelyonbeepollina/oninanyway.Whatplantparts(flower,fruit,leaf,seed)areinyourmeal?Whatishappeningtothebees?Whathaveyoubeenhearingaboutbeesinthenewsrecently?WhatisyourunderstandingofColonyCollapseDisorder(CCD)?AreyouconcernedaboutCCD?Whatareotherthingsintheenvironmentthatcouldmakebeessickorkillthem?Howwouldourfoodsupplybeimpactedifhoneybeesnolongerexist?Whichbee-pollinatedfoodwouldyoumissthemost?Whatcanwedotoprotecthoneybeesfromtheeffectsofpes/cidesandencouragehealthybees?
BEES ARE RELYING ON US D I N N E R D I S C U S S I O N G U I D E
Where does your food come from? DiscussionPoints:
• Naturalhistoryofafoodcrop:Inordertogrow,plantsrequireafewkeythings.Sunlight isnecessary for theprocessofphotosynthesis,andtheproperbalanceofwaterandnutrientsensuresaplant’shealth.Adequatepollina/on also contributes to a plant’s livelihood, and some plants areincapableofproducing fruitwithoutthehelpofpollinators likebees.Otherplantsself-pollinate,buthoneybeepollina/onincreasestheabundanceandsize of theiryield.InmostagriculturalseYngs,ifsufficientna/vepollinatorsarenotavailable,honeybeeswillbetransportedtothefieldstoensurepollina/ontakesplace.
• Food insecurity & hunger: Honey bee health insures food security. According to a recent U.N.report, of the 100 crops that provide 90% of the world’s food, over 70 are pollinated by bees.Withoutthebenefitofhoneybeepollina/on,agriculturalyieldswouldbelessabundant. Honeybees are also an indicator species whose health provides insight into the health of the greaterecosystem.Ashoneybeehealthisthreatened,wealsofaceaglobaldeclineinbiodiversity.
• What’sinseason:Ea/ngseasonallyistheprac/ceofonlyea/ngproduceduringthe/meofyearitgrows in your region. Inmost areas of theU.S., for instance,wintermeans that fresh fruits andvegetablesmustbe importedfromwarmerstatesorcountriesclosertotheequator.However, inCalifornia’scentralvalley,wheretheweatherstaysmildthroughoutwinter, it’spossibletogrowavarietyofcropsyear-round.ThismakesCaliforniaa leader inagriculturalexports,manyofwhichrelyonhoneybeesforpollina/on.
✦Tomatoes✦Strawberries✦Peppers✦Eggplants✦Soybeans✦Limabeans(andotherdrybeans)✦Sunflowerseeds✦Sesameseeds
✦Apples✦Almonds✦Watermelon✦Pumpkin✦Squash✦Cucumbers✦Avocados✦Mangos✦Blueberries✦Raspberries
Foods that require bee pollination: Foods that benefit from bee pollination:
Bees pollinate one in every three bites of food we eat.
Pes@cideAc@onNetwork|www.panna.org|510.788.9020
• Bees = Blueberries (and apples, and almonds, andwatermelons...):Whilebeesareforagingforfoodtofeedthe members of their hive, they are also performing animportantservicetomanyplants:pollina/on.Manyspeciesofplantsneedpollenfromanother individualplant.Thispollen iscarried to their flowers, enabling the plants to fruit and produceviable seed. Honey bees, along with na/ve bees, buRerflies, flies and otherinsectsarevitaltotheseplants’reproduc/on.AccordingtoarecentUnitedNa/onstudy,70outofthe100mostimportantfoodcropsintheworldmustbepollinatedbybees.Manynutri/onallyandeconomicallyimportantcropseitherwouldn’tfruitatallorwouldproducemuchloweryieldswithoutbees. Evendairy products andbeef indirectly rely onhoneybees; beesmust pollinatealfalfa,themainhayfedtocows,soitwillproduceseedforfarmerstoplantthenextyear.Allinall,pollinators’contribu/ontotheU.S.economyises/matedatover$15billionayear.
Why are honey bees important to our food? DiscussionPoints:
• Working9to5,whatawaytomakesomehoney:Honeybeesareacommonsightinthegardenwhenever flowers are in bloom. Thoughusually seen alone, they actually are collec/ng nectarandpollentosupportthecomplexandsocialcolonytheylivein.Allhoneybeesliveinhivesthatareorganizedaroundtheirqueen,adominantfemalewhoistheonlybeeabletolayviableeggs.Thequeenlaysupto2,000eggsaday,andthehive’ssurvivalisdependentonher.Theworkingbeeswe see in the garden are also female.When they firstmature theywork as nurse bees,caring for the eggs and feeding the larvae, or “brood”. As they age, theywork as guard bees,protec/ng the hives against threats from animals or other insects; then they serve as workerbees,flyinguptofourmilesawaytofindflowers,or“forage”.Malebeesarecalled“drones”andonlyleavethehivetomatewiththequeenduringherma/ngflightinthespring.C o l l e c t e dnectarandpollenisfedtothebroodandotherbeesinthehive,andturned into honey to feed the hive during the winter, when itbecomes toocold for thebees to leave thehiveand there isliRleornoforageavailable.
Pes@cideAc@onNetworkandpartnersareworkingtoprotectourpollinators,andpuYngpressureondecisionmakerstosuspendasuspectclassofpes/cides(neonico/noids)knowntoundermine
honeybeeimmunity.
Withoneineverythreebitesoffooddependentonhoneybeesforpollina/on,the/mefordecisiveac/onisnow.Gotowww.panna.org/beesandjointheglobalmovementtoprotectbees.
Pes@cideAc@onNetwork|www.panna.org|510.788.9020
Why are bees disappearing? DiscussionPoints:
• ColonyCollapseDisorder:ColonyCollapseDisorderorCCDwasfirstdocumentedandnamedin2006whenUSbeekeepersexperiencedanunprecedentedlossof30-90%oftheirhivesoverthewinter.Eachwintersince,U.S.beekeepershaveaveragedlossesofaround34%,yearonyear.ItisunlikelythatCCDiscausedbyasinglefactor,rather,scien/stsbelieveitisacombina/onoffactorsthatdecreaseimmunityandincreasestressonthehive.Thesefactorsarepes/cideexposure,pathogensandparasites,andnutri/onandmanagementprac/ces.Beekeepershavecon/nuedtoexperiencehugelosseseveryyearsince.
• Neonico@noidPes@cides:Neonico/noidsaresystemicpes/cidesthatwereintroducedinthe1990’sandhavebecomeonethefastestgrowingclassofpes/cidesinmodernagriculturalhistory.Theyareneurotoxictoawidevarietyofinsects,andespeciallytoxictohoneybees.Theyareonenusedtocoatseedsbutarealsousedinfleacolors,lawntreatmentsandsomegardencomposts.Systemicpes/cidesareappliedattheroot(asseedcoa/ngordrench)andthentakenupthroughtheplant’svascularsystemtobeexpressedinpollen,nectar&guRa/ondroplets(likedew)fromwhichbeesforageanddrink.FourcountriesinEuropehaverestrictedtheuseofcertainneonico/noidsanertheywereconnectedtomajorbeedie-offsin2008.Recentresearchhasshownthatthepes/cidesundermineimmunityinhoneybees,makingthemmoresuscep/bletopestsandpathogens.
Whatyoucandotohelpthehoneybees...
✦Joinourcampaigntoprotectbees!Moredetailsat:www.panna.org/bees.
✦Plantagardenwithplantsbeespar/cularlylike.Eveninthecity,acontaineronabalconyorfrontstoopcanmakeabigdifferencetothegrowingnumberofurbanbeesandtheirbeekeepers.Downloadafree‘Bee-friendlyGardening’guideathRp://www.panna.org/sites/default/files/Bee-FriendlyGardening_PAN.pdf
✦Becomeabeekeeper!Thereareagrowingnumberofbeekeepingresourcesandclassesavailable.
✦Eatpes/cide-freefoodsandsupportfarmerswhochoose
nottousepes/cides.
Pes@cideAc@onNetwork|www.panna.org|510.788.9020
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