Rebecca MacFarlane
At the risk of stating what is the complete obvious- Bees are what bring us that divine golden liquid we call Honey. Honey has been used in cuisine as well as health for thousands of years.
A powerful and natural antibiotic, Honey has been used to make Mead, Soothe and heal wounds, prevent infections and disease, soften skin, lighten and moisturize hair and boost health and quality of life in general.
The Health benefits of Honey are almost too numerous to list in one article, and Scientists have recently been confirming the age old Wisdom of Honey that has been handed down from generation to generation for centuries. Not only is it a delightful sweet treat and amazing alternative to refined white sugar, it is also a medicinal super food.
All of this being said, Honey is under major global threat. Why? We are currently facing the serious problem of a dwindling Honey Bee population.
This is due to the increased used of chemical pesticides in Industrial Agriculture. Whereas these pesticides prevent pesky insects from munching on our crops, they are also poisoning and killing our Honey Bees at an alarming rate.
As well as pesticides, wide spread Industrialization, deforestation and environmental destruction is also contributing to the death of the Honey Bees.
Honey is not all that will be lost if the Bee had to go extinct. In fact, the aftermath of such an event would have catastrophic consequences to our world as we know it.
Seeing as bees are largely responsible for pollination that helps in fertilizing plants- the crops that we sustain ourselves with in particular- the extinction of Bees would mean the extinction of a massive variety of our current vegetation. Our plants, vegetables and even fruits that fill our super market shelves would be reduced to less than a quarter of what they are now. In a viscous cycle, the extinction of this vegetation would mean the possible extinction of any animals that rely on this vegetation as their source of food, having devastating consequences for the food chain and environment as a whole.
Why then are more people not talking about Bees as an endangered species? This certainly is a serious issue that is currently facing our world, and should we wish to preserve the Bees and their Ancient legacy of sweet Honey and all of its magical benefits, we need to start becoming more involved in their preservation.
Saving the Bees may seem like a difficult or even impossible feat for the average person. After all, most of us are not involved in Bee keeping at all. But the New York Bee Sanctuary says that we can all help towards the conservation of our Bee population. Here are some of their suggestions for how you can help in your own day to day life:
1. Do not use chemical pesticides in your garden and plant lots of flowers that naturally attract Bees.
2. support local raw Honey production. Many of the Honey brands sold in bulk in super markets these days are actually synthetic. Recent studies conducted in the USA have found that many of the famous Brands in fact contained almost no natural Honey at all. Bee keepers need the financial support to continue with their Bee conservation in order to compete with large name brands, so be sure to support them rather than the big brands.
3.Keep some weeds. Many of us compulsively de-weed our gardens, removing plants such as dandelions- but these are actually a nourishing meal for the Honey Bee. Try to spare a few of these weeds in your weekly gardening routine.
4. Educate others about the importance of Bee conservation. This is possibly the most important step you can take.
Many people these days are unaware of the seriousness of the situation, and as they say, education is the most valuable tool in any worthy campaign.
