It is estimated that one third of human food crops are pollinated by bees (1). That is, the ordinary day-to-day act of insects sustaining their own species, also helps in a huge way to sustain human life on Earth. That is extraordinary — but of course, it is a part of how eco-systems work.
What seems more extraordinary is that despite increasing evidence that some human agricultural activities are actually killing bee populations (2), our species continues to allow the use of harmful pesticides and the destruction of bee habitats in order to plant more, particularly, genetically modified, mono-crops.
We are, in effect, biting the hand that feeds us. That is not only extraordinary, but extraordinarily stupid.
The European Union has already suspended the use of several pesticides that have been shown to be toxic to bees, but many are still able to be legally sold and used elsewhere. That includes New Zealand (3)– my home country — which is both heavily dependent on food exports and markets itself world-wide as a “clean, green” country.
Extraordinary!
This post was written for the Daily Post Photo Challenge. This week’s theme is (extra)ordinary.
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(3) NZ urged to follow US pesticide ban, Radio NZ, 17 September 2015