Many people do not realize how important honey bees are to our way of life. Honey bees are responsible for a third of all the food we eat. They are responsible for 70 percent of our food crop pollination. They are a keystone species; the very cornerstone to the sustainability of our agriculture and the primary basis of stability for our fragile environment.
What is alarming, is that honey bees continue to die at alarming and catastrophic rates in Canada, and in every country where they are raised. There are many explanations for this. Foremost and most sinister, is the irresponsible use of pesticides such as neonicotinoids: clothianidin, thiamethoxam, and imidacloprid.
The Canadian Beekeepers organization, and both the federal and provincial governments are currently debating the plight of the honey bee, yet the average person continues to be left in the dark regarding these concerns. That is why one of the best solutions is education, awareness, and active governmental participation in a resolution to the crisis.
To this end, at the March 18, District of Barriere Council meeting, Mayor Humphreys proclaimed May 29, 2013, as the Day of the Honey Bee within the municipality.
The proclamation reads: “WHEREAS, a third of all the food Mankind consumes exists because of the tireless work of the Honey Bee; WHEREAS, seventy percent of our food crops are pollinated and partially if not completely dependant upon the Honey Bee; WHEREAS, Honey Bees are disappearing at alarming and unsustainable rates all over the world for reasons not fully explained by science; WHEREAS, the public needs to be made aware of the dire threats to the Honey Bee, for their survival is surely linked with our own; NOW KNOW THAT as Mayor of the District of Barriere, and on behalf of its citizens, I proclaim and declare that, May 29, 2013, shall be known as the “Day of the Honey Bee” in the District of Barriere.”