Where Have All The Bees Gone?

It’s time to give bees their due – find out why pollinators are vital to a thriving and healthy ecological system.

- Kate Geagan

What do Clean Eating favorites like almonds, strawberries, pumpkins, blueberries and mango have in common? Without pollinators, they couldn’t exist. While that may sound like a quaint elementary school science lesson, you might be surprised to discover that bees are one of the biggest topics buzzing around “good food” conversations today. Here’s why they matter for a healthy diet and a greener world.

Why Pollinators Are the Bee’s Knees

Bees do far more for your diet than create delicious honey. As pollinators, they are the hidden heroes of the food system, playing a crucial role in producing more than one-third of the world’s food crops. The economic value of the services they perform reaches into the billions (they pollinate more than $15 billion worth of crops) – though they do it free of charge. In practical terms, one in every three bites of the food you eat depends on bees, including crops such as certain fruits, vegetables and nuts that are the cornerstone of a healthy diet. And, if you’re a coffee drinker, well, guess what: Coffee beans depend on bees, too. In fact, bees are so fundamental to the food chain that they have a special name: They’re known as a “keystone species,” meaning they play a disproportionately large (and environmentally critical) role in an ecosystem relative to their abundance in that ecosystem.