Busy as a bee: Pollinators put food on the table
by NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council)
June 2015
Pollinators—including birds, bats, and bees—pollinate fruits, vegetables, and other crops that provide us with food, fiber, drugs, and fuel. In addition to pollinating food crops like apples, almonds, and pumpkins, bees pollinate forage crops including alfalfa and clover that provide feed for cattle and other animals.
And, it isn’t just honeybees that help put food on the table. North America’s approximately 4,000 wild bee species help pollinate agricultural crops as well as the seeds, nuts, and fruits that are consumed by animals from songbirds to grizzly bears.
Keeping bee populations safe is critical for keeping American tables set with high-quality produce and our agriculture sector running smoothly.3 However, over the last decade bee populations have been in decline,4 raising concern among scientists and policy experts across North America—including the National Academy of Sciences and the White House.
Read the full article, Bee Deaths, Pesticides, and a Stalled Regulatory System (PDF File).