A lot of discussion is taking place nowadays, regarding the essential role of bees in our lives. With their natural habitats greatly destroyed due to pesticides and modern farming practices, bee populations are starting to diminish at a worrying rate around the world. It is therefore, worth reminding ourselves what these creatures do to sustain life on all levels.
Bee populations constitute the cornerstone of a successful and sustainable crop production. Almost all crops cultivated with the intention of ending up in our plates and shopping baskets need bees to pollinate them. The yield and quality of these crops heavily depend on this process.
Therefore, it is clear that the quality and quantity of food crops available for human consumption relies on bees. And this includes products that we consume every day and are absolutely essential to the survival and healthy living of the human population; nearly all fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds used to produce oil.
Even the coffee beans used to produce the precious, dark liquid dripping in your cup that you cherish every morning, needed bees to help them grow. Except for food crops, directly aimed at human consumption, bees help maintain crops used as fodder supplies for feeding livestock. So bee activity indirectly affects meat production as well, by securing the existence of food for the animals we breed to consume.
But their contribution does not stop here, not to mention honey and wax production. The aforementioned results of their beneficial activity are only one side of their crucial role; specifically the side that has a more direct impact on our lives and is most likely to concern us. But focusing solely on the importance of bees in maintaining food crops would be a superficial approach to their vital role in nature, or life for that matter, preservation and it would also be an understatement.
Bees are guardians of the world’s ecosystems and, consequently, its biodiversity. And this is crucial for sustaining wildlife, animal and plant populations and preserving wild natural landscapes. In other words, bees keep the economy up and running, from a strictly financial point of view, by securing today’s precarious food supply. But, more importantly, they are one of the reasons why we humans and every other living creature on earth are alive and thriving.
In Bioporos Organic Farm we have long been aware of the vital importance of bees, not only for the environment, but also for sustaining human life. We have installed a beekeeping unit, which you are welcome to visit, to watch these fascinating creatures in action and observe organic beekeeping practices. After this unique experience you will appreciate the hard work of nature’s tireless keepers a lot more.