Do you love honey? So do we! But did you know how bad things are for honeybees in Europe? These little industrious insects are increasingly struggling, and their product – honey – is becoming an ever more valuable and rare commodity.
For around 20 years now, there have been fewer and fewer bees. This is mainly due to the massive use of synthetic pesticides and insecticides, but also to the sharply declining biodiversity. In France, the decline of bees was already classified as alarming in the mid-1990s: the number of beekeepers fell by 40% between 2004 and 2012, the number of beehives by 20%, and the annual yield by around 28%, leading to annual losses of over 30%.
Of course, this phenomenon knows no national borders and has also spread to other European countries, as well as the USA and Canada.
The consequences are obvious: since many plants depend on pollination by insects (including bees) for their survival, the decline of bees also leads to a decline in these plants, which in turn has an impact on our food resources … bees are simply a reliable indicator of the state of our environment and thus also of environmental damage of all kinds.
According to Julien Bourrette, a beekeeper from Languedoc-Roussillon and producer of the wonderful honeys from "Mes ruches", the new pesticides, so-called neonicotinoid insecticides, are a real disaster for bees because they permanently settle in the plants, as they circulate through the plant via the plant sap.
In combination with many other factors (genetically modified seeds, electromagnetic vibrations, pollution in general, climate change, the disappearance of various plant and flower species, viruses, parasites, fungal infections …), more and more bees are unable to cope with this great burden, leading to massive bee deaths.
Accordingly, honey production in France has been declining since the 90s: while according to Julien 32,000 tonnes of honey were still produced in 1995, it was only 18,000 tonnes in 2009 and only 10,000 tonnes in 2014.
Julien also does not assess the situation as very rosy, but views it as positive that honey consumption in Europe remains stable and this wonderful natural product continues to be appreciated. He also notes a growing awareness among end consumers that honey is a valuable natural product that is subject to seasonal fluctuations and that – if carefully produced – also has its price. Through his nature-oriented work, Julien is setting an example for a change in thinking – so that we can still eat real honey from real bees in 50 years!
