So...we eat the bee's food which contains substances
which are essential to their own immune systems. Bee
keepers supplement their food by feeding bees
water saturated with sugar, which leads us to ask
this question:

Where Have all the Honey Bees Gone?

(The amazing story of dairy industry culpability)

"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe,
then man would only have four years left to live."
- Albert Einstein

This from the Penn State Agriculture Magazine, Spring 1998:

"In the spring of 1993, entomologist Maryann Frazier
encountered a mystery. 'Beekeepers began calling to
report that they had no bees in their colonies,' she
recalls...They had seen bees making flights in February,
but by April, there were no bees. What happened to them?'

Frazier's investigation into the reasons the bees
disappeared continues today. If she and her colleagues
can't unravel the mystery of why bee colonies are dying,
beekeepers, fruit and vegetable growers, and consumers all
are likely to feel the consequences."

I live in New Jersey, America's Garden State. Our official
state insect is the honey bee. Bees pollinate crops. It's
actually a big business. Pollinators travel across America,
leasing their bees to crop growers. Beekeepers keep and
supplement their income by selling the honey. During World
War II, there were over 6 million commercial beehives in
America. By the mid-1980s, that number had dropped to 4
million. Today, there are 2.5 million remaining.

America's honey bees are disappearing, and those who best
know bees have a number of theories, but no one conclusive
reason. The one universally accepted fact is that bees are
in trouble.

Could an aspirin manufacturer be the cause of the bee's
demise? The Bayer Aspirin Company may be giving our
environment and our bees an incurable migraine headache.

My first hint came from an ad in the April 10, 2006
issue of Hoard's Dairyman. There, on page 270, a full
color advertisement proclaims:

"Bayer supplies the technology to fix the milking
machine on the right."

On the right side of the ad is an enlarged photo of
a most grotesque fly with large red eyes and appendages
containing end-to-end cactus-like spurs.

In smaller text, Bayer informs prospective customers:

"Bayer understands how much profit flies suck out of
your entire operation. That's why we developed QuickBayt
Pour-On insecticide...put the high-tech tools from Bayer
to work." (Bayer is owned by the IG Farben Company, and
no, I will not be getting into that controversy here...)

I began to search the Internet for the secret ingredients
to Bayer's miracle fly solution. Gobs and gobs of this
high-tech gunk are slathered onto dairy cow's bodies. What's
in QuickBayt that makes life so very dangerous for the honey
bee?

Imidacloprid.

Imidacloprid is a widely used insecticide that has
environmentalists extremely concerned. Apparently, scientists
have known for many years the impact that imidacloprid has on
wildlife. Here are some of the recognized hazards of using
imidacloprid:

Imidacloprid has raised concerns because of its possible
impact on bee populations...it is also acutely toxic to
earthworms...

Imidacloprid has raised concerns because it causes eggshell
thinning in endangered bird species...it is highly toxic to
sparrows, quails, canaries, and pigeons...

Imidacloprid can be toxic to humans, causing epileptic
seizures, diarrhea, and lack of coordination...

Imidacloprid is extremely toxic at low concentrations to
some species of aquatic fish and crustaceans...

Can food be contaminated with imidacloprid? You tell me
whether this is comedy or tragedy at work. Neither the United
States Department of Agriculture nor the Food and Drug
Administration includes imidacloprid in their food monitoring
programs.

Two European studies have shown that vegetables tested with
imidacloprid were contaminated, one week after exposure.

It seems clear that imidacloprid use on dairy farms should be
closely monitored by regulatory agencies. The Bayer Company
is making lots of money on this drug, but the true cost might
become America's newest headache. My advice to FDA and USDA
regulators who refuse to regulate: Take two imidacloprids
and call me in the morning.

"Even bees, the little almsmen of spring bowers,
know there is richest juice in poison-flowers."
- John Keats

Those vegans who claim to extend "ahimsa" to all
living creatures actually abuse bees by using
their food and replacing it with sugar-water.
These same vegans might be part of the problem
when considering the environmental and agricultural
harm caused by a decrease in beehive populations.

Why not replace your honey use with maple syrup or
agave syrup? We can live with the self imposed guilt
of occasionally tapping into maple trees or the
occasional bloodlust of severing limbs from abused
cactus plants.

And remember, Tiggers don't like honey, so don't
you be a Pooh Bear.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com