Scientists and researchers at Monsanto believe that they have found a solution to the mysterious drop in honey-bee populations all over the planet.
One of every three bites of food eaten worldwide depends on pollinators, especially bees, for a successful harvest. The drop in honey-bee population is a threat that endangers the world’s food supply.
For past 10 years, beekeepers in the United States and Europe, have been reporting annual hive losses of more than 30 percent. But this winter, many beekeepers around the world experienced losses of 40 to 50 percent or more.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted $3 million dollar to the scientists and researchers at Monsanto to develop alternative strategies to “survive” an eventual honey bee Colony collapse disorder (CCD), a phenomenon that occurs when the majority of worker bees in a colony disappear, this could “dramatically impact the world’s food supply.
Eric Mussen, an apiculturiust at the University of California said:
Recent studies shows that neonicotinoid is the potential culprit. Neonicotinoid pesticides are vastly used in farming has become an essential part of agriculture in today’s modern world.
John Leere, head of the project at monsanto said:
There is a link between neonicotinoid pesticides that are vastly used in GE farming, we had to develop ways to promote both the continuity of GE farming and the survival of the honey bees.
Researchers has developed a genetically modified ant that could “possibly save the world’s food supply”.
“Since GE farming and neonicotinoid pesticides are here to stay, we first tried to modify the bees as to increase their immune system to these insecticides, with little or no success.
Yet, we did not despair and eventually started testing on winged virgin queens and males of the ant species. Although ants usually lose their wings after the queen has been inseminated and starts to give birth to the new colony, genetic manipulation has produced a flying ant species that is strikingly similar to the common honey bee, and 50 times stronger to certain types of pesticides” the specialist acknowledges, visibly enthused by the discovery.
“Through genetic manipulations, we could eventually create a hybrid species that would have both the common honey bee’s pollinating characteristics, as well as possess the pesticide immunization properties of certain ant species, a perfect match that would take thousands of years to develop on its own in nature” he explains.
Neonicotinoids are currently used on about 95 percent of corn and canola crops; the majority of cotton, sorghum, and sugar beets; and about half of all soybeans. They’re also used on the vast majority of fruit and vegetable crops, including apples, cherries, peaches, oranges, berries, leafy greens, tomatoes, and potatoes. Neonicotinoids are also applied to cereal grains, rice, nuts, and wine grapes.
Greenpeace study shows, seventy out of the top 100 human food crops, which supply about 90 percent of the world’s nutrition, are pollinated by bees. US National Agriculture Statistics show a honey bee decline from about 3.2 million hives in 1947 to 2.4 million hives in 2008, a 90% reduction.