Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association

Vanishing of the Bees

By Alan Harman.  Edited by Martha Kiefer.

The world’s largest consumer-owned business, The Cooperative Ltd. has called on the British government to commission research into the effects some pesticides have on honey bees.  This call coincides with the launch of the feature film, Vanishing of the Bees, which outlines the decline in the honey bee population. 

Vanishing of the Bees, the latest film to be distributed by the Co-op, is a new chapter in its Plan Bee campaign that is designed to help halt the decline in the number of honey bees and raise awareness of the issue. The film tells the story of the worldwide decline in bee populations and explores the potential causes behind these losses.

The Co-op wants everyone who sees the film to write to Environment Minister Hilary Benn MP urging him to fund research into neonicotinoids, a family of chemicals that has been linked to honey bee colony collapse.

The Co-op announced in January it was expanding its market-leading pesticide policy and prohibiting the use of all eight of the neonicotinoid family of chemicals on the fresh produce it sells under its own brand label.  The banned pesticides are Acetamiprid, Clothianidin, Dinotefuran, Fipronil, Imidacloprid, Nitenpyram, Thiacloprid and Thiamethoxam.

“The finger of suspicion has been pointed at some pesticides, in particular the use of neonicotinoids,” he says. “This family of chemicals has been linked to honey bee declines elsewhere in Europe and that is why they have been restricted in Germany, France, Italy, and Slovenia. However, very little independent research into their effects on bees has been carried out in the UK.  

“That is why we are calling for the government, which earlier this year announced that it had put aside £10 million ($16 million) to be used on pollinator research, to carry out a systematic review of the impact these pesticides are having on the well-being of honey bees.”

 At the same time, the Co-op is contributing £150,000 ($241,480) to research into the decline of the honey bee.  This is the UK’s largest ever private donation for honey bee research.  Paul Monaghan, head of social goals for the Co-op, says the alarming drop in the number of honey bees and the threat that has on our food supplies is very worrying, and it is essential to find out what is happening and quickly. 

The Co-op is the UK’s largest farmer, with more than 61,780 acres of land under management.   It has more than 4.5 million members and 87,000 employees.  The food retail business is the largest division of the Co-op, operating more than 2,200 stores of various sizes with the biggest geographical spread of any retailer. 

Last spring the coop’s farms began a three-year research project seeking to identify the optimal mix of wildflowers that can be sown in field margins and on “set-aside” land to attract and support honey bees. 

Filmmakers George Langworthy and Maryam Henein say they were drawn to make the documentary because it encapsulates grand issues about ecology, agriculture, economy and politics in a mystery about the amazing little honey bee.   

To find out more about this film and the filmmakers, visit their web page vanishingbees.com.