Bees

The western honey bee is the most widely populous kind of bee globally. Bees are facing many difficulties worldwide. Some of these include chemical pesticides, and dangers to their habitats.  A European Food Safety Authority found three commonly used pesticides that are very dangerous for bees. These are clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiametoxam. The industry for these is over 2 billion dollars.

Photo from Sharp-Eatman Nature Photography

1 in 4 of North America's 4,000 native bee species are at risk of extinction and more than half of the species are declining according to the Center for Biological Diversity. "Colony population losses below 18.7% are sustainable; lose any more, though, and the colony is heading toward zero. A startling two-thirds of beekeepers in the USDA survey reported losses above the threshold of 18.7%, suggesting that the pollination industry is in trouble (USDA).

The GVSU Beekeepers are a group of students who manage honey bees and maintain their apiary at the Sustainable Agriculture Project (SAP). They also spread awareness of the importance of pollinators. 

Bees are significant because they help to produce honey,  pollen, along other products such as beeswax. They are extremely invaluable to agriculture and their benefit is said to greatly outweigh the value of the other products they make. They make up 15 billion dollars of the agricultural industry with their pollination to crops.

Photo from P7R7 via wikipedia

Honeybees are profitable around the world and in the U.S. specifically. The high economic value crops such as coffee, cocoa, almonds, and soybeans, are heavily reliant on pollination. With bee pollination profits valued at 3.07 billion, there is an impact on the economy. Honeybees also provide economic value in sunflower seed production which industry is estimated at 10.4 million annually (US). This implementation plan for the SAP is not specifically intended to generate more profit, yet it will still provide the economic stability that honeybees provide through honey. 

The social impact of honey bees is how agricultural businesses and food systems are reliant on pollination. Honeybees provide goods to people and support the global population. By protecting bee species and honey bees specifically, these systems will be maintained. At the SAP, protecting honey bees from diseases and pesticides will be beneficial to the people working with them such as the GVSU Beekeepers.  

Our food systems and agriculture depend on pollinators. Without bees, 100% of almonds, 90% of Apples, Onions, Blueberries, Cucumbers, and Carrots would be gone. The pollination provided by bee species is vital to maintaining a healthy planet. By implementing disease and pesticide prevention at the SAP, the environmental impact is positive from protecting the honeybee species.