http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2014/04/california-almond-farms-blamed-honeybee-die
Do any other nuts cause problems like these?
Do any other nuts cause problems like these?
Almonds killing bees
- Thread starter rainforests1
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Clueless Git
Plant powered
'Less I misread the article ..
It has nothing to do with the nuts, the almonds, themselves.
It's the chemical cocktails sprayed on the trees that's doing the damage to bees.
Calliegirl
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It's cause and effect. If you buy almonds that aren't organic, you're likely supporting the bee problem, correct?
Clueless Git
Plant powered
Almonds, specificaly, would not be the cause there, RF.
The cause would be the pesticides.
That would mean that all non organic food purchases are contributing ('supporting' not quite the right word?) to the problem.
Is your point that we should buy more organic foods, only organic foods even, in order to reduce the pesticide problem for bees?
If so, then I think that your point is a very very good one.
Why would they single out almonds but not other nuts? The problem is organic nuts tend to be $4 or $5 more per pound than conventional, at least where I live. When you're not very wealthy, it does make a difference. Basically everything I buy is organic except for nuts.
Not all nuts are pollinated by bees. Almonds are a very poplar nut, in high demand, and happen to be pollinated by bees. That's why they are being singled out.
CG is right; there is nothing in the article that indicates that almonds are somehow poisonous, as you seem to believe; quite the contrary - the article makes it clear that pesticides and herbicides are the problem.
Actually, they are only part of the problem. CCD appears to result from a number of factors coinciding: the widespread and intense use of pesticides and herbicides, which affect not only the specific lands on which they are used, but have spread into the soil, water table and air generally (even so-called "organic" agriculture is therefor affected); the widespread practice of mono-agriculture, which results in bees being deprived of a varied diet; the practice of moving colonies from place to place to pollinate crops as the seasons progress, which stresses colonies considerably, since bees are homing creatures; wireless telephone and other signals, which interfere with bees' homing abilities and thereby weakens them.
Those are only some of the factors which have been identified as contributing to CCD.
