In 2006, the term ‘colony collapse’ disorder was created in the United States to describe the mass disappearance of honey bees from their hives. Throughout history, it has not been unheard of for bee disappearances to occur occasionally, so why the sudden buzz? The answer lies in the alarming fact that the bees began disappearing in a magnitude yet unseen and not only contained to North America but echoed throughout the world. The documentary, “Queen of the Sun: What are the bees telling us?”, brings to light the struggle of biodynamic beekeepers, farmers, and scientists worldwide in tackling the threats not only to the honey bees but, by extension, to ourselves.
Human beings have coexisted with bees for nearly 10,000 years. As of today, the United States Department of Agriculture states that almost one-third of the food we eat is pollinated mainly by honey bees. As Ian Davies, a rooftop beekeeper situated in London, says in the film, “If we don’t protect them, then we’re not protecting ourselves.”
One of the main threats the film focuses on is the mechanization that has happened to the practice of beekeeping in order to increase profits, and subsequently its negative effects on the health of the bee population. Industrialized farming driving monoculture and pesticide use is explored, highlighting the necessitation of beekeepers to now provide pollination services. Eric Olson, a migratory beekeeper, explains that the business involves practices that are not beneficial to the bees but are necessary in order to stay in business. Due to monoculture farming in many places not providing bees an environment where they can nourish themselves, bees are flown worldwide every year to aid in pollination. In California alone, nearly 2 million bees are flown in annually to pollinate orchard fields. Not only does this introduce new diseases to the native colonies, the process of transporting the bees is highly stressful and makes them more susceptible to illness and even death as they cannot forage when they are on the road (Simone-Finstrom et al., 2016).
Before being transported, the bees are fed with high-fructose corn syrup in an attempt to strengthen them. Roy Arbon, an organic beekeeper, explains that in the sugar oxytetracycline or tetramycin is used in attempts to control disease. When humans consume the honey that is produced by those bees, they too consume the antibiotics and develop resistance to them. This scene caused me to think of the organic farm we visited at the beginning of the course and how important of a role every aspect of food production plays. The abundance of pesticides and antibiotics in today’s farming practices does not come without costly downsides to our health as well. When one aspect of the environment suffers- even something as seemingly small as a honeybee- the rest follows. Our interconnection and dependance on the environment is the reason organic farmers such as Martha are so important.
In 1923, the scientist and philosopher Rudolf Steiner predicted that industrialization and the mechanization of beekeeping will eventually destroy the bees. Nearly a century later, his predictions are coming to fruition and we need to face head-on the harsh reality that our exploitation of nature for our own means is causing the loss of a species necessary to our survival. Rather than ignore the alarm the bees are sounding, in the words of Steiner, “Everybody should be interested in beekeeping. Our lives depend on it.”
Reference:
Simone-Finstrom et al. (2011). Migratory management and environmental conditions affect lifespan and oxidative stress in honey bees. Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/articles/srep32023