I attended the LOHAS Conference last week. Kudos to the organizers for improving the event over last year! The conference was full of all the "late and great" thinking in the sustainability space, even if it still didn't feature the "latest and greatest" that other conferences I have attended -- such as Bioneers and Green Business Conference -- offer.
Even so, the possibility of meeting people and hearing ideas inspires me to attend as many such conferences as I can. At LOHAS, while quaffing an Acai Martini, I spoke to a fellow green business enthusiast about what has been known in green circles as "the bee situation." We discussed the recent reports in the media that beekeepers in 24 states are experiencing record losses of honeybees. Some states have reported up to 70% disappearances of commercial bee populations. Researchers are struggling to find the causes of this mysterious collapse.
My fellow organic quaffer shared some good news he'd heard: The catastrophic bee colony collapse is not affecting organic hives. I read this same account this morning in an email from the Organic Consumers Association, which said that a blog on Guerilla News Network revealed a crucial element of this story, missing from reports in the mainstream media. They found that organic beekeepers across North America are not experiencing colony collapses. OCA reports:
The millions of dying bees are hyper-bred varieties whose hives are regularly fumigated with toxic pesticides by conventional beekeepers attempting to ward off mites. In contrast, organic beekeepers avoid pesticides and toxic chemicals and strive to use techniques that closely emulate the ecology of bees in the wild. Researchers are beginning to link the mass deaths of non-organic bees to pesticide exposure, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and the common practice of moving conventional bee hives over long distances.
On a separate, yet related, note: Why is this news about organic bees not reported in the mainstream media? That is the question that comes to mind for me! We are best served not only by seeking the correct answers, but to ensure that we ask the correct questions. As Anais Nin said, "We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are." For further reading on media, I recommend Thomas de Zengotita's book Mediated.
Meanwhile, as we collective cogitate on all things bees, I am heartened that nature has revealed a pathway for us to continue feeding ourselves -- with a strong message: "GO ORGANIC!"
