The Avalon Organic Gardens, Farm, and Ranch Report

An online German publication, Spiegel online, recently questioned a possible connection between the mysterious decimation of bee populations in the U.S. and Germany and the spread of genetically-modified (GM) crops. In some cases, bee populations are down 70-80 percent. The article noted that politicians in both countries have taken little interest in the problem, but believes that could soon change. "Since last November, the US has seen a decline in bee populations so dramatic that it eclipses all previous incidences of mass mortality. Beekeepers on the east coast of the United States complain that they have lost more than 70 percent of their stock since late last year, while the west coast has seen a decline of up to 60 percent." In 2005, Walter Haefeker, who sits on the board of directors of the German Beekeepers Association (DBIB) and is vice president of the European Professional Beekeepers Association, ended an article he contributed to the journal Der Kritischer Agrarbericht (Critical Agricultural Report) with an Albert Einstein quote: "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."