Day of the Honey Bee

I believe that one person can change the world. With that in mind, I wish to impart a message that transcends all human barriers of nationality, language, skin, income, identity, religion or politics.

The message I bring before you is regarding the Honey Bee and their alarming disappearance from hives all over our country and the world. In fact Honey Bees are disappearing in EVERY country on every continent where they are raised. According to the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA), Canada lost 35 percent of our Honey Bees last year and they warn that this is 20 percent more than what is sustainable loss. This means that if they continue to die as they are, there will be serious negative consequences for our economy, agriculture and the environment.

You should be made aware that the Honey Bee has been known by mankind since at least 6000 B.C. as evidenced by rock paintings in Spain found in 1924. Honey Bees have been used by mankind as a food source through domestication since at least 5000 B.C. In that ancient time they were regarded as tears of the Sun God Ra by the Ancient Egyptians and honey was believed to ward against evil spirits.

Honey and bee’s wax have also been used throughout the Stone Age in medicines and food through to the present day. In pre-industrial times, the Honey Bee was respected and beekeepers were wealthy and esteemed leaders in their communities.

Today unfortunately, in many ways, Mankind is still in the Stone Age with regards to understanding these creatures that predate our own species by millennia. It was only in the 18th century that mankind understood the nature and origin of the materials that Honey Bees collect that result in bee’s wax and honey. It was only after 1851 that a way was devised to extract honey from hives without killing these industrious insects. It was at this same time that the Honey Bee was found in almost every country around the world.

Mankind has learned in the time since many fascinating things about Honey Bees, however, if we knew or fully understood what was killing Honey Bees in such alarming numbers; I would not be where I am today asking for – – – no – – – Begging, your help.

Honey Bees all over the world are dying for reasons that Mankind can not fully explain. They are succumbing to what has been called Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD. Up to this point this fact has remained largely unknown to the general public and if it turns out to be that mankind’s influence on the environment is a factor in CCD, we need to know what it is. There are many theories offered as an explanation to their disappearance including pesticides, genetically modified crops, cell phones, pollution, and radiation, among others.

With these theories abounding, it is still a fact that we do not know for sure what is killing them. CCD may even be a syndrome or a combination of these factors and this does not yet take into account other factors that we KNOW are killing Honey Bees. Such is the case with Varroa destructor or the Bee Mite Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae, the latter of which was only discovered in Canada in 2007. This single-celled internal parasite has decimated thousands of Canadian hives as it has to hives all over the globe.

CCD is only exacerbating the already dire situation for Honey Bees. However, only by realizing the cause of their disappearance can we affect our actions, behaviour and attitudes towards an insect that, I would argue, beyond all other domesticated animals and plants has been THE MOST influential, and important to the development and advancement of Humanity across the globe.

Honey Bees have taken up the mantle of responsibility for a staggeringly large proportion of the food we eat on a primary, secondary and tertiary level. We eat what they produce, we eat what they pollinate and we eat animals that also live as a result of that pollination. Some sources suggest up to seventy percent of food crops are dependant upon the Honey Bee. To name only a few of the millions of species of plants and animals that have become partly, if not completely dependant upon these pollinators for survival would still take up the rest of your day if not your week. Yet, I will say that WE are on the very top of that list.

Some of these partially or completely dependant food crops are almonds, sunflower, rapeseed, canola, strawberries, pears, apples, squash, melons, cranberry, blueberry, alfalfa, clover, Mint, Basil, and countless other fruits, trees, shrubs, vegetables, and herbs. This does not take into account the ecological impact of Honey Bees to plant species not used by mankind for food but have an equally important role in the stability and survival of our environment.

The true value of the Honey Bee is not measured in numbers or monetary amounts or even in metric tones of honey. Yet, in terms of the survival our own species, if the Honey Bee continues to die as they are, the saga of Humanity on this planet will be jeopardised. We might return to ages far darker than the walls of cave paintings in Spain.

My concern for the people of your city and mine and all of the people across Canada and the World is that if Honey Bees disappear, there will be without a doubt less food available – in fact there may be terrible shortage.

My goal is for all levels of Government in Canada – Municipal, Provincial and Federal, to declare May 29, 2010 as the first annual “Day of the Honey Bee”. The result of this declaration will be to raise the level of awareness and respect for Honey Bees back to some of the former glory it witnessed in ancient Egypt. This movement began in Saskatoon, SK, Regina, SK and Tisdale SK. Each of these Municipalities has proclaimed that May 29, 2010 will be the First annual “Day of the Honey Bee”.

I invite your Worship and Members of City Council to join, what began in Saskatchewan, a cause that will change the world. More people need to be made aware of this situation which affects us all to effect change before it is too late. With great respect I call upon each of you to declare May 29, 2010 (in perpetuity if possible) as the first annual “Day of the Honey Bee”. It will be this step, the first in many, which may prove to be our salvation.GSE