Countryfile report

[Black Comb]

Reading the Feb edition of countryfile magazine I see a report headed "bees not doomed".

Selceted bits :-

"experts writing in new scientist suggest the problem has been overstated".

"CCD is mainly in N America and parts of Europe where little natural or semi-natural habitat remains and may not represent global trends."

UN Food & Agriculture report - "it is untrue to say that bees are responsible for the production of a large fraction of our food; they say that about 70% of the 115 most productive crops, including most fruits and oilseeds, are animal pollinated. If bees disappeared altogether, global agricultural production would decrease by only 4 to 6% they suggest."

Had to happen I suppose.

 

[Heather]

Just another scientific opinion - bees till damaged by pesticides and this has been highlighted and people more sensitive to the environment, due to the hype, so no bad thing. There will be a balance in opinion 'somewhere'.

 

[oliver90owner]

And this suggested 5% decrease? How many more hungry mouths would that equate to? Another billion?

Regards, RAB

 

[Somerford]

well we'd better submit the results of my poll to them when March is over and they might think again

LOL

regards

S

 

[tonybloke]

And this suggested 5% decrease? How many more hungry mouths would that equate to? Another billion?

Regards, RAB

probably no mouths at all!!, they are more worried about american agriculture, where mono-crop and no wild populations of pollinators exist (unlike here, where we have bumble bees for instance)
citrus and almond groves don't exactly feed the world, it's the starch that's the real issue with world agric ( maize, wheat, barley, oats, rice, potato ) etc

 

[behranidevi]

The habitat loss and CCD connection seems quite plausible.
Those almond orchards and their ilk, bear no resemblance to
your typical bee habitat.
I always thought bees played a bigger part in our food production
than a mere 6%.
Would n`t like to test that particular theory.

 

[oliver90owner]

No, but if the Americans are not eating almond, citrus, etc, they would be wanting more of something else from somewhere else, which would eventually mean some poor souls will have the 5% less! The difference between subsistence and having a deficit seems to be a fairly fine line for a lot of people.

Regards, RAB

 

[hedgerow pete]

where as i cant agree with or against the country file information , I must say that i realy do find the whole of the commercial american bee culture very very hard to fathom out, a mixture of hard money venture and suicide it realy does frighten me with there ways