Bee a Saver! Help save our bees.

The “Green Deal” by the European Union has been a step in the right direction (albeit short of being the definite change of course that could save the continent and the planet). Whilst politicians play politics with the rule book dictated by the rich lobbies (which normally don’t happen to be the most sustainable of industries), there is an ever growing movement of Europeans under lockdowns who are realising that we desperately need to change direction.

Farming is one industry that is at the heart of what needs to be changed. Current intensive agricultural practices are “one-sidedly geared towards increasing yields by increasing the use of toxic agrochemicals have brought the ecosystem to the brink of collapse. Day by day, the biological diversity that underpins our food systems is disappearing – putting the future of our food, livelihoods, health and environment under severe threat.” 1

The main victims of all of this are small farmers, nature and biodiversity and our health. Nature is suffering the first blow, with a disastrous effect on bees, butterflies and other insects along with birds all of which are disappearing. Across Europe, streams and rivers and water tables are becoming a reservoir for the constant incessant usage of synthetic pesticides.

In 1962 Rachel Carson wrote the book Silent Spring, documenting the environmental effects caused by the indiscriminate use of pesticides. In her book she states the synthetic chemical industry “is a child of the Second World War. In the course of developing agents of chemical warfare, some of the chemicals created in the laboratory were found to be lethal to insects.” We don’t seem to have any moral and ethical issues in using the technology that was acquired from research into ways how to kill humans.

Unfortunately we are still at war with nature. What we don’t seem to understand is that when the last bee dies so will humankind. It used to be a practice to use canaries in cages to warn coal miners when the air in the mine was deadly. Birds, bees and more are dying in the air we are breathing and the water we are drinking. Shouldn’t we head the warning!

5 simple things you can your do to help save bees

Let’s act before the whole system collapses. VeggyMalta is supporting an initiative being carried forward locally by Friends of the Earth Malta which is collecting a European wide petition to save bees and farmers! Here are 5 simple things you can do to help save bees:

• Follow this link and sign the petition, and share it on social media to get your friends to do the same,
• Support Friends of the Earth Malta by sponsoring a Bee Hive from as little as €10,
• Create a bee haven in your own back garden and ask your local council to create bee-hotels. FOEM explains what plants feed bees,
• Choose to eat as organic as possible,
• Avoid using pesticides in your own garden- it helps save wildlife and your own health.