Economic Importance Of Bees Essay

Why Bees are the Bee’s Knees: The Economic Importance of Bees As Pollinators
Introduction
Bees have indirectly contributed to the United States’ economy for hundreds of years. Dozens of industries have flourished and thrived off the backs of these tiny insects, and without them, the average American lifestyle would not exist. As a society, we are dependent on bees to pollinate our crops and provide us with honey, which in the U.S. alone was worth $317 million in 2013 (“Honey Industry Facts”). Bees also are responsible for the pollination of cotton, which was and continues to be an integral part of the U.S. economy (Sarich). Many household items contain cotton or parts of the cotton plant, and without bees, the price to maintain lifestyles would rise. Additionally, not enough bee colonies exist in the United States for them all to remain sedentary, so commercial beekeepers transport their colonies all around the country during different pollination seasons to boost crop yield (“Economic Value of Commercial
Beekeeping”). Also, honey production is decreasing, however, honey consumption is increasing, which means consumers are not eating real honey. Asian countries adulterate honey and sell it on the American market, forcing American beekeepers with pure, unadulterated honey out of business (Rotten). Bees are and have been an imperative part of the U.S. economy, whether we realized it or not.

Cotton Honeybees pollinate a “third of everything we eat… (and) 84% of the crops grown for human consumption” (Benjamin). Cotton is among that 84%, and has so many commercial and household uses that it has become an essential part of day to day life. Cotton is not only used in clothing, but also in fishnets, tarps, hotel sheets, diapers, tents, coffee filters, book bindings, and even car tires. Cottonseed is used to feed cattle, and cottonseed oil is used in cosmetics, rubber, plastics, soap, paint, cooking oils, and pharmaceuticals. Linters are used in bandages, bank notes, and swabs (“Uses of Cotton”). Hundreds of industries depend on these products, which are all derived from cotton. Almost all parts of the cotton plant are used ( “Uses of Cotton”), and without cotton, life as we know it would not exist. Colonial America depended on cotton as a cash crop, and grew “two-thirds of the global supply” at the time (Lumen Learning). Because cotton needed to be transported and needed space to grow, the shipping industry and lumber industry both grew along with the cotton industry. The demand for cotton pushed innovators to create more efficient ways to harvest, gin, transport, and use cotton (Lumen Learning). All of this would not have been possible without the humble honeybee, who performed the simple task of pollination, allowing cotton to grow and flourish in massive quantaties and indirectly contributed to the development of the United States.
Price of Lifestyle Life without bees would be much more expensive. Almost 40% of colonies in the United States have fallen to Colony Collapse Disorder, a strange and bizzarre phenomenon where whole colonies just disappear- not even leaving behind bodies (Sarich). Fewer honeybee colonies mean fewer crops will be pollinated, whether they be cash crops like cotton or food crops, like blueberriesm strawberries, or melons (Sarich). Fewer crops pollinated means a smaller, less bountiful crop yield, and consequently, prices for these crops will rise, as well as the prices for any products manufactured from these crops. Ultimately, the price to maintain our lifestyle will rise with the decline of bees. For example, if bees stopped pollinating cotton, the cotton crop would be massively reduced, and because the demand would still be as high as ever, the prices would rise. Because the price of cotton rose, so will all other products that use cotton or derivatives of cotton, from prescription medicines to car tires (“Uses of Cotton”). Prices in many other industries that depend on cotton will rise as well (textiles, clothing, etc), and in order to keep up with this, we will have to sacrifice purchasing items we would have taken for granted before.
Travelling Colonies Another important concept that needs to be understood to fully recognize the dependency we have on bees is that beekeepers do not just keep their colonies in one place throughout the year. Commercial beekeepers move their colonies around the country during different pollinating seasons because there simply aren’t enough colonies to support crops without moving them from state to state. Many different produce industries depend on bee colonies that are transoported around the country, so one colony can pollinate crops in California, Pennsylvania, Maine, and Georgia (“Economic Value of Commercial Beekeeping”). In September of 2010, a beekeeper lost about 200 of his hives to pesticides, which caused an estimated $5 million loss to the economy . Pennsylvania alone lost 280 colonies from 2016-2017, so assuming every 200 colonies lost equals a $5 million loss, then lost colonies equals a $7 million deficit, assuming those 280 were from commercial honey farms that were transported around the country (“Preliminary: 2016-2017 State Total and Average Losses”). We lost several thousands of colonies around the country from 2016-2017, so the negative impacts this left on our economy are simply intangible. We already don’t have enough colonies to sustain our crops without moving them around the country, and the fact that bees are rapidly disappearing just makes the situation even more strenuous on the beekeepers and bee colonies that are surviving, and causes huge economic losses (Rotten).
Honey Adulteration Honey conusmption around the world has been rising, but honey production has been decreasing around the world because of bees’ disappearing (Rotten). The only explanation for this phenomenon is that honey is being adulterated, and what consumers think is real honey isn’t real honey. In order to increase volume, Asian countries, most notably China, will dilute their honey with rice or corn syrups (Rotten). This makes their honey very cheap, and they sold it in mass quantities on the American market, pushing American beekeepers and honey producers out of the market. Eventually, heavy tariffs were placed on imported Chinese honey to protect American businesses, and they were so heavy they nearly doubled the price (Rotten). Unfortunately, “China came up with a clever way to skirt the duties: ‘They’ll ship their honey to another country, say, Malaysia or India… then it’s apparently honey from that country… and it escapes the duty’” (Woodruff). Because of this, consumers end up buying possibly fatal Chinese honey that has been contaminated with antibiotics or pesticides, and are completely untraceable to China because the pollen has been filtered out using heavy machinery (Michaelis). 76% of grocery store honey does not have pollen in it- which is an alarming sign that it may have been laundered (Michaelis). Some drugstores carry honey that is not at all honey- the ingredients merely state “honey flavored corn syrup” (Michaelis). Everyday citizens can avoid this danger by purchasing honey from local farms, and supporting American honey farms. If the United States had enough hives to support the demand, buyers could be protected from dangerous chemicals and impure honey, instead of having to purchase imported “honey” (Woodruff). The decline in bee populations have been directly linked to honey adulteration and a lack of integrity in the honey industry.
Conclusion
Bees play a critical role in the global economy, providing us with food, clothing, and a multitude of other products we would not be able to survive without.
Upper and middle class families probably have not minded the slight increase in produce prices over the years as bees died off, but to those living paycheck to paycheck, small changes can add up to hundreds of dollars lost over a few years. Small farmers had smaller crop yields, especially if they could not afford to transport bee colonies to farms to pollinate crops, which means they had less to sell and less money to make, unless they raised prices. The same happened to beekeepers, who have had to compromise the quality of their honey in order to meet demands. Bees are an important part of our economy that we have taken for granted, now that their numbers are rapidly declining, it’s up to humanity to protect and support them or risk losing the lifestyle we have grown so incredibly accustomed
to.