When the damage is Done !

There is probably nothing more threatening to the human race than a catastrophe that devastates the world food supply.  Whenever there are food shortages caused by weather conditions the result is spread unevenly.   The rich countries wail because the price rises, but the poor countries simply go hungry because ability to pay becomes the deciding factor.

World agriculture is dependent on bees.   These busy little honey makers go from plant to plant in their quest for nectar and perform the important function of transforming the interchange of male to female genetics.   Like us humans, the flowers on trees and other plants are either male or female and they need to get together to produce offspring.

The bees perform this service unknowingly.  In their search for nectar,male pollen collects on their feet and is transferred when they visit a female flower.  Because bees are the most consistent insect with a need for nectar their service is essential to create bountiful crops - year after year.

In recent times there has been a problem.  Hives of bees have been mysteriously dieing.  Bee farming is now closely integrated with agriculture.   The bee industry moves hives according to a pattern to ensure that the bees are active and ready to pollinate each blossom season and the type of flower being serviced gives both taste and characteristic to the honey they produce.

This death spiral in hives is becoming a serious problem and in some areas there are simply not enough surviving bees to ensure that adequate servicing will occur.  So far, the precise reason why hives are suffering this fate is unknown, but the use of insecticide is thought to play a major part.

Here in Australia Bunnings have just removed a pesticide from sale because of fear that it may be the cause of hive death.   This product is known as a " neonicotinoid " and works very differently to other pest control measures.   It is absorbed by the plant rather than coating its surface and is not washed off by rain.   The plant itself becomes the source of the poison and most likely the feet of the bees become contaminated when they touch the surface in their search for pollen.   In this way, the insecticide is carried back to the hive.

This should be ringing alarm bells at the highest pinnacle of world government.  The firms that produce insecticides employ gifted scientists in their laboratories and have extensive research budgets.  Their task is to develop products that will make wealth for their employer and this may not be adequately researched to discover other unintended consequences.  It is important that such peer review be undertaken before such new products are approved for market release.

If this neonicotinoid managed to make it to market without its ability to kill bees being discovered it reveals a gaping gap in our safety regimen.  The companies that supply agricultural needs are world companies and a promising product will be quickly marketed internationally.   There is the potential for a massive catastrophe if safeguards are not in place.

Just how close we came to killing off the entire bee population is unknown, and what genetic effects may still be laying dormant in hives is also unknown.  When it comes to the world food supply, that is something we leave to chance - at our peril.