Just Bee-Cause

Sometimes you don't think about the declining bee population when you see a pollen-dusted honey bee rolling around in a poppy blossom, but colony collapse disorder (CCD) is still with us.

Pollinator protection is a must.

That's why we were glad to see the U. S. House of Representatives yesterday pass HR 2997, the "Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act" for fiscal year 2010.

The vote was 266-160, and now the bill is off to the U.S. Senate for approval.

Tom Van Arsdall, director of public affairs for the Pollinator Partnership, sent us Cong. Alcee L. Hastings' amendments to the bill. Hastings represents Florida's 23rd District in the House. 

"Hastings Amendments Bee-Come Part of Ag Appropriations Bill--Provisions Increase Funds for Pollinator Protection," Van Arsdale wrote in his e-mail subject line, with a teaser message that said "bee-low and attached."

Basically, Hastings' amendments increase funding for research into pollinator decline and CCD.

"Congress must continue to secure the necessary funding to proactively address pollinator decline," Hastings said in a press release issued by his office. "The fact of the matter is that pollinators are responsible for vast portions of our food supply and exported crops, which makes their decline an urgent matter of economic and food security. Without an adequate supply of natural pollinators, many crops would require hand pollination, which would dramatically raise crop prices."

Yes, one-third of the American diet is pollinated by honey bees. In California alone, more than 100 crops depend on bee pollination services.

The tanked economy has us all scrambling to make ends meet, but it's scary to think what the loss of bees would do to our food supply. 

Bee-cause that would be disastrous.