Policy and a Pint®: Bringing Back the Bees
by Steve Seel, Dara Moskowitz-Grumdahl, Gary Reuter and Jospeh Zachmann
April 30, 2014
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There's a growing threat that, if we fail to act, could profoundly affect our lives. Like many species, bees and other insect pollinators are facing environmental challenges -- the biggest of which is loss of native habitat -- that jeopardize their very existence.
At Policy and a Pint "Bringing Back the Bees," we talked about threats to the state's insect population, and what could be devastating consequences for our food supply, our economy - and us.
There are also a few tips on what each of us can do to slow the threat, and eventually, bring back the bees.
The bottom line: we're the problem, but we're also the solution.
"We've lost an amount of prairie equal to the size of Indiana -- in just the Dakotas and Minnesota - since 2008."
--Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, food writer
"[Neonicotinoids] are not the only thing to worry about. The mantra that we've been circulating is, 'if you have the ability, grow flowers, as many as possible, find ones that are bee-attractive and keep them chemical free.'"
--Joe Zachmann, Minnesota Department of Agriculture
"I don't think that you need a lot of people to do it. What the bees need primarily, the native bees, is they need flowering throughout the season. They don't store huge amounts of honey to get them through the bad patches, like honeybees do. And so you need something that will flower throughout the season. But no, it doesn't take a lot. If you did a 10' X 10' patch in your backyard, you'll make a difference."
--Gary Reuter, University of Minnesota's Bee Lab