Organic Farming Needed To Save Bees
Europe´s beekeeping industry could be wiped out in less than 10 years as bees fall victim to disease, insecticides and farming methods says international beekeeping body Apimondia. “With this level of mortality, European beekeepers can survive only another eith to ten years” said Gilles Ratia, president of Apimondia.
Last year, Europe lost about 30% of its 13.6 million hives. 35% of European food crops need bees to pollinate them. The cause of the decline in bee numbers has not been pinpointed, but most keepers blame farming methods and the powerful new pesticides used.
Evidence, says France´s beekeeping union, is that French honey output has decreased in intensive sunflower farming areas, but remained steady in mountains and chestnut forests. Apimondia´s scientific coordinator, Gerard Arnold, says insecticides and the parasitic mite Varroa are responsible for weakening bee colonies. Once weakened, the bees fall prey to viruses and diseases.
The EU has voted tp phase out most of the toxic pesticides, but Ratia says the honey industry´s concerns are being drowned out by the interests of giant pesticide companies.
(Reuters)
