A note about almonds: 80%+ of all almonds consumed worldwide are produced in the state of California. Almonds are also becoming an increasingly large staple of the world wide diet, and production is going through the roof. As a result, California is going through an agricultural shift called monocropping. Basically, the only crop plant for miles around is an almond tree. Alongside this, almond trees are one of the most heavily sprayed down crops in existence, getting blasted with pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. And all of these trees require pollination to produce almonds.
California’s Almonds require approximately 60% off all US hives. While lucrative for beekeepers, there has been a growing trend of severe hive damage, with around 15 to 25 percent of those hives reporting a loss from Colony Collapse Disorder. Whether this is a result of monoculture or multiple herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides is up to debate. The chemical companies have said that these products are safe. However, there have been reports of up to 50 billion bees dying in the 2018-2019 almond season. So bee aware of your almond consumption.
Do you or someone you know keep bees? We want to hear your story! Pace University’s Pace Docs crew is in the process of producing a documentary about Urban Beekeeping, the latest in a series of award-winning environmentally and culturally relevant documentaries from our department. Contact us at paceudocs@gmail.com. And follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tik Tok for more content!