The Traditional Thanksgiving Feast Is At Risk, And It Has Nothing To Do With The Economy

Holiday Spread Would Be Sparse Without Bees To Pollinate The Food Supply

Asheville, North Carolina USA -- The traditional Thanksgiving feast is at risk, and it has nothing to do with the economy. Bees are disappearing in North America at an alarming rate, and scientists don’t understand why. And since bees are directly responsible for pollinating a third of our food crops — and indirectly, for another third — long-term prospects for the traditional holiday spread are pretty bleak.

Just imagine Thanksgiving without squash, broccoli, lima beans, cranberry sauce or pumpkin pie. Or Christmas without oranges for the stocking or chestnuts to roast. Even the New Year’s Day collard greens — representing prosperity in the year ahead — gone.

And don’t even think about hot chocolate, apple cider, tea or coffee.

If this bleak prospect makes you lose your appetite, take note. When you give thanks at your table this year, salute the honeybees for the annual cornucopia. From blueberries to Brussels sprouts, carrots to coconuts, walnuts to watermelons, honeybees pollinate the plants that provide much of what we eat — at Thanksgiving and year-round.

But the role of bees in traditional holiday meals is threatened by the potential harmful impacts of the phenomenon scientists call Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD, which jeopardizes the bee population — and the food supply — in North America. With Thanksgiving approaching, Mel Hughes, co-founder of the Asheville, N.C.-based A Bee Lover’s Garden, gives a way for consumers to support honeybees by growing bee-friendly flowers and plants that provide the nutrition the insects need.

A Bee Lover’s Garden offers 2010 calendars on art-quality, recycled paper with drawings and descriptions of flowers that attract honeybees. Each month lists easy ways to help feed and shelter bees. The frameable drawings are by renowned North Carolina artist and illustrator Jay Pfeil. A portion of net proceeds from sales of the calendars will support bee research.

For more information, visit www.abeeloversgarden.com. The site features a 2-minute video illustrating the role of bees in the traditional holiday dinner, which was chosen a Best Video of the Week by Internet Video Magazine.

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Kathi Petersen

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KP Communications

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