All of mankinds’ food security is managed by the humble bee. The biggest threat to it – bees and food – is the greed of a select few who treat the control of food as a means of controlling us, the people, at once their greatest asset and their most undervalued resource. When Chad Kruger from the Centre of Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources was asked what he believes poses the biggest threat to food security, he “was completely stumped” and in a  recent article  says, “For every threat that came to mind as “the big one” I could come up with at least two arguments as to why a different threat was bigger” and that “there are too many qualifiers that need to be considered”.

Despite these qualifiers what is alarming is what is represented in this image.  The red wedges represent an estimate of the current position for each variable. The boundaries in three systems (rate of biodiversity loss, climate change and human interference with the nitrogen cycle), have already been exceeded.

Statisticsviews.com recent feature on bees and biodiversity reveals bees as being “one of the major groups of insects responsible for carrying pollen from one plant to another to ensure the growth of fruit or the healthy sexual reproduction of crops. Scientific studies, news articles, and environmental campaigns have highlighted the critical need for these busy pollinators in order to sustain natural biodiversity and maintain our global food supplies.”

Educating current generations about the current state of play and educating future generations to expect and work towards a different approach with better outcomes for the earths’ people, flora and fauna is something we explore in our Native Stingless Bee Box. This education Resource Kit is the 8th in our Backyard in a Box Series developed to broaden educational outcomes by going places the education department can’t or won’t formally go.

Keep stingless bees. They’re native and they don’t sting.  Create a buffer between your food security and the legislated actions and impact of political empowerment of corporate greed. A great place to start researching Native bees is Permaculture Northern Beaches.