Whole Foods Launches ‘Human Bee-In’ To Help Save The Honeybees

Whole Foods Market recently embarked upon a Human Bee-In “Give bees a chance” educational campaign to highlight the ongoing honeybee decline. The chain is hosting events in stores June 21 to alert shoppers to exactly how the dairy aisle would look if honeybees no longer existed.

Staffers at Whole Foods found that without honeybees, most fruit-flavored yogurts would no longer be stocked on the shelves. The company also discovered that honeybees are responsible for the chocolate which is necessary to make that childhood school cafeteria favorite – chocolate milk. The store pulled 237 of 453 products from their store aisle to illustrate how many food items would no longer exist without bee pollination.

Monsanto’s Roundup Ready has become the poster child for the organic anti-GMO and save the honeybees movement. Honeybees have been dying in record numbers since 2005. Even though the best brains from around the globe are on the case, no definitive result has yet been accepted by the scientific world, the FDA, or the EPA. Many feel, and cite study statistics, the GMO crops and chemical herbicides and pesticides are to blame.

Excerpt from the Whole Foods Human Bee-In event release:

“Imagine a world with no milk, yogurt, or butter. No cheese? No chance. Without pollinators, the dairy aisle would be a lot less plentiful. That’s why the Whole Foods Market Lynnfield store in Massachusetts demonstrated to shoppers how many of their dairy department favorites would cease to exist without bees. One of every three bites of food comes from plants pollinated by honeybees and other pollinators, and pollinator populations are facing massive declines.”

As those whole follow the potentially devastating Colony Collapse Disorder issue closely already know, without the tiny pollinators, the plants which livestock requires for grazing would be gone – and so would the cheese we all love on our pizzas and mixed in with macaroni, and numerous other dishes consumed daily in the United States.

According to the Whole Foods Market review, without honeybee pollination of clover and alfalfa a 50 percent reduction in all milk-based products would also likely occur. Almond milk and fruit juices would also be among the items to disappear from grocery stores in honeybees are wiped out by biotech products, GMO crops, the nasty little varroa mite, or any other reason that has been touted for CCD by notable experts.

In 2013, Whole Foods engaged in a similar bee education project. While working on that endeavor the store found that 52 percent of products typically found in the product mixes aisle is also dependent upon pollination by bees. According to the studies reviewed during the experiment, about 85 percent of all the plant species on Earth either require or “strongly benefit” from pollination by insects.

Xerces Society Pollinator Conservation Program Assistant Director Eric Mader had this to say about honeybees:

“Despite the critical role they play in sustaining our world, the situation for pollinators continues to be difficult. Whether we are looking at honeybee declines, the massive downturn in monarch butterfly populations, or the risk of extinction now facing many bumblebee species, this is an incredibly tough time for pollinators. The stand that Whole Foods Market is taking to bring more attention to our pollinators should inspire all of us to speak out for these creatures, and to take action. We don’t always notice it when walking down a grocery aisle, but pollinators are a critical link in our food system, some of the most nutritious parts of our diet. Our organization is working with farmers nationwide to help them create wildflower habitat on field edges and to adopt less pesticide-intensive practices. Even on a small scale, these simple strategies can tip the balance back in favor of our bees.”

To join the bee conservation conversation in cyber space use the hashtag – #ShareTheBuzz.

Just a few of the foods which would disappear from the face of the Earth if bees become extinct:
• Onions
• Apples
• Avocados
• Carrots
• Mangos
• Lemons
• Limes
• Honeydew
• Cantaloupe
• Zucchini
• Summer squash
• Eggplant
• Cucumbers
• Celery
• Green onions
• Cauliflower
• Leeks
• Bok choy
• Kale
• Broccoli
• Broccoli rabe
• Mustard greens

[Images Via: Whole Foods]