Who knew that bees could be so divisive? The past week has seen bees the subject of debates about biodiversity, habit destruction and more.
Firstly, there were headlines about bee populations being destroyed by the sheer number of almond trees needed to meet the currently unprecedented demand for almond milk.
There are some problems with this contention. For a start, the story had the effect of blaming consumers instead of the corporations responsible for the farming. It also failed to address the problem of pesticides; most non-organic almond farms use large quantities of the glyphosate pesticide Roundup, which, to put it mildly, has proved controversial, not least because of its impact on bee populations. Still, this didn’t stop some commentators from attributing the problem to vegans.
Next, Brussels environment agency Bruxelles Environnement moved to address concerns about a reportedly massive increase in the numbers of private individuals keeping bees. It said that although many of these amateur beekeepers were moved to keep bees because of environmental concerns and sometimes for health benefits – for example, in order to use propolis as a cold sore treatment – it said that the honey bees being kept threatened the populations of wild bees in the area.
“This is a contest for natural resources,” said Nicolas Vereecken, professor of agro-ecology at the Brussels Free University ULB.
However, amateur beekeepers dispute that there is a problem, countering that there are only a few hundred apiarists. “Over the last three years, according to our own count, there has instead been a reduction in the number of hives in Brussels, of the order of 30%,” said a spokesperson from a group of local Brussels beekeepers.
But Bruxelles Environnement is adamant – they say that wild bees are struggling to keep pace. Unfortunately, it seems that the two sides are divided. Fortunately, we can all agree on one thing: bees are miraculous; they pollinate plants, make honey and are responsible for Herstat, our clinically proven cold sore treatment.
