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Are cell phones threatening the honey supply?
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Headlines out of India yesterday declared that electromagnetic fields from mobile phone towers and cell phones are causing destruction of the honeybee population.
The puzzling abandonment of hives by the worker bees has been observed in the U.S. since 2006-2007, when 32% of honeybee colonies were mysteriously lost. Since then, 36% of colonies were lost in 2007-2008 and 29% in 2008-2009. This unexplained loss of colonies is referred to as "colony collapse disorder" (CCD) in the U.S. and "honeybee colony depopulation syndrome" in Europe.
The losses are alarming enough to honey lovers, but the concern is much more far-reaching since honeybees pollinate 80% of the fruits and vegetables that we eat. That is estimated to be 35% of our food supply: $15 billion in U.S. produce and $215 billion in produce worldwide.
So, is it the cell phones? In the Indian experiment, when a cell phone was kept near a hive, the colony collapsed, with the worker bees failing to return to the hive, within 10 days. The researchers believed the electromagnetic fields interfered with the bees’ navigational skills. It’s not a new theory. A study in Germany claimed that bees’ behavior changes near power lines and a study from the University of Landau also found that mobile phones near hives prevent bees from returning home.
But not everyone is convinced that cell phones are the problem. Other theories include pesticides (both those used in the pollinated fields and those in the hives), viruses and poor bee nutrition (feeding bees sugar water instead of honey). On the other hand, in April of this year, scientists in Spain isolated a parasite and successfully treated it, preventing a colony collapse.
In the 2008 Farm Bill, the U.S. funded a research study in which 8 federal agencies, 2 state agencies, 22 universities and other private organizations are participating, but no conclusions have yet been drawn.
Many see the mysterious loss of bees as indicative of larger problems in the environment and even in the universe with many quoting Albert Einstein: “If the bee disappeared off the face of the globe, then man would only have four years left to live.”
Who would want to live anyway without honey?
Video: Michael Pollan comments on the plight of the honey bees.
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