Wellness Wednesday: 5 Ways to Save Bees & How it Can Affect Your Health

"If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live." ~ Albert Einstein

Last week I had the pleasure of going on a field trip with my son and his kindergarten class to a local farm. Our mission...learn about bees!

As someone who has gotten stung numerous times by those little buzzing creatures, I was not SUPER thrilled about this adventure. For something so small, they can cause a lot of pain, especially if you are allergic to them. But, one of the perks of working from home is the flexibility I have to do these events with my kid...so I braved the cold (and my fears of being stung) and made my way to the farm.

I had heard over the years the importance of honey bees to our food supply, and how pesticides were threatening their survival, but I had never been properly schooled on how important they actually are.

Did you know.....

• The honey bee has been around for over 30 million years
•  It is the only insect to produce a food that people eat
• Honey will NEVER spoil
• Honey is also the only food that includes all the substances necessary to sustain life, including enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and water; and it's the only food that contains "pinocembrin", and antioxidants associated with improved brain functioning.
• During a collection trip bees visit 50-100 flowers and store the pollen in their leg sacks
• The average honey bee will only make a 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime
• Honey bees contribute over $14 billion to the value of U.S. crop production.
• Around the world bees are dying  from over use of chemical pesticides, herbicides, electromagnetic radiation, loss of habitat and genetically modified crops that may contain pollen that is not nutritionally valuable.
• Bees are responsible for pollinating:

Apples, peaches, pears, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, almonds, Brazil nuts, pumpkins – all squashes, avocado mango, star fruit and cocoa…and MUCH more! (Basically everything natural and nutritious)

Not impressed? HERE's the full list.

I had no idea that bee's were SUCH an important part of our ecosystem and how much they contribute to our health! With this new information I wanted to find out how we all can help save the bee population so we don't lose the precious crops we need to survive.

1. GO WILD!!

Although protecting your home garden from pests and insects is important, also having a space that is animal friendly will help bee's to establish a hive. So let some of your plants run wild, and in turn those busy bees will help pollinate your food.

2. Put Away the Chemicals

We know that modern insecticides are deadly to bees, and are responsible for Colony Collapse Disorder. It will be better for their health, and yours, if we all just stop spraying this stuff.

3. Avoid Modified Seeds

Many farmers now buy seeds coated with clothianidin and other systemic insecticides. These can cause the entire plant to become toxic to bees and other insects. 

4. Buy Organic

Besides the numerous health benefits, tradionally organic farmers will also use natural farming methods that are bee-friendly.

5. Support Local Honey Farms

Industrial sized bee operations are more concerned with the input, rather than the output. You can find local honey at farmers markets and groceries stores. You'll be putting money back into your community while helping to maintain your local bee population.

The survival of bees is undeniably connected to our own survival. Help protect real food by protecting bees.

Did you know the importance of honey bees?

Embracing the 'Buzz' in Granolaville,

Taste It Tuesday: How Safe is Your Produce?

Have food companies roped you into believing everything you put in your body needs to be "Organic"? Labeling of our food can be very confusing. Terms like "All Natural", "Organic", "Natural Flavoring", and "Certified Organic" are thrown around all willy-nilly, its hard to differentiate what we should buy vs fattening these companies pockets.

I'm guilty of being a sucker to clever marketing. I once bought a brand of "Natural Whole Grain" bread thinking I was giving my family a good source of fiber and carbohydrates, only to read the back label to see that High Fructose Corn Syrup was the second ingredient. I don't know about you, but I don't think I want buckets of genetically modified corn sugar being dumped into my family's bread.

So how do you know which food should be organic and which are safe when traditionally grown? Well that's a trick question. The simple answer is NONE of our food should have added chemicals, whether it is being grown on a farm in the Mid-West or in our own backyard.

I know that this idealistic approach to food is not economically or geographically feasible for many people. Even if you are lucky enough to live near a grocery store that has USDA Certified Organic produce stocked on its shelves, the price of these items can border on extortion. (I just paid $5 for a container Organic strawberries).

Though the price of purchasing Organic food can deter many people from even considering it, just know that health benefits can far out weigh the dent in your wallet. Because organic farmers don't get subsidies from the government, and have a more labor intensive process to grow their food, their prices reflect the true cost of their work.

O.K. Getting back to which food to buy organically. This question can actually be answered by finding out which foods have the highest amount of pesticide and herbicide contamination. Each year the Environmental Working Group releases a list of the most contaminated foods, aptly titled the "Dirty Dozen".
  By switching to the USDA Organic varieties of these food you can greatly reduce your chemical intake by as much as 80% and avoid spending extra cash on food that doesn't necessarily need to be organic. 
If buying organic food is completely out of your budget try this simple natural food wash to help kill bacteria and dissolve wax or pesticides that remain on your foods.
Natural Veggie Wash   Ingrediants: A spray bottle with equal parts vinegar and water, 2 tablespoons salt.
Directions: For thick skins (apples) spray directly on item, rub in, then rinse with water. For soft skins (peaches) place in a bowl to soak for 2 minutes, then rinse with water.   If you want to indulge in some produce that isn't covered in toxic chemicals also check out the "Clean 15" in this handy little print out.  

 
What kinds of organic food do you buy? Let me know in the comments section below!
Fresh and Clean in Granolaville, 

Resources:
http://www.whatsonmyfood.org/food.jsp?food=NE http://www.thedailygreen.com/ http://www.ewg.org/