by Jeffrey Buchanan, Guest Contributor

Last Tuesday, Chairman Edward Kennedy and Sen. Bernie Sanders of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a hearing on modern-day slavery, persistent labor abuses and stagnant sub-poverty wages facing farmworkers in Florida's tomato fields. Two hundred years after the U.S. Congress banned the transatlantic slave trade and 150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, America is still dealing with human trafficking of workers on our soil and an agricultural industry dependent on unspeakable labor practices standing in the way of human rights and social justice.

The hearing included testimony from Lucas Benitez (in photo), co-founder of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and winner of the 2003 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. The CIW is a membership organization of migrant farmworkers, with over 4,000 members in Immokalee, the heart of Florida's fruit and vegetable industry, and elsewhere around the country. Immokalee and the surrounding portions of Florida are also where the majority of U.S.-grown tomatoes come from during the winter months.

As you read this article, chances are you have a Florida-grown tomato in your pantry. Chances also are, according to testimony of Detective Charlie Frost, investigator for the human trafficking unit at the Collier County Sheriff's Office, that as you read this article human trafficking is occurring in Florida’s agricultural fields. Katrina vanden Heuvel and Greg Kaufmann at TheNation.com chronicled Frost's response to Sen. Sanders after being asked if he believed modern day slavery, also called human trafficking, was occurring "as we speak" in Florida’s fields.

"It's probably occurring right now while we sit here," Frost said. "Almost assuredly it's going on right now."

"Detective, would you agree that in these slavery cases, there are people higher up the economic chain who are complicit and who benefit financially from what goes on?" Sanders asked. "[And if so,] do you believe we need to change the law to prevent the growers from shielding themselves from responsibility?"

"They isolate themselves from what is occurring, and they benefit from what's going on," Frost said. "We have to do something. We have to hold them accountable. This is occurring in their backyard, this is occurring in our fields, this is occurring in our country."

Tomato growers and those who purchase their produce have isolated themselves from the consequences of these abuses. Reggie Brown of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange (FTGE), an industry group representing growers whose harvests account for 90 percent of Florida’s tomatoes, and Roy Renya, a management-level employee of Grangier Farms, a local tomato grower, testified they had never seen such cases in their fields, despite the seven indictments of forced labor (of which at least three cases involved tomato pickers) in Florida involving over 1,000 workers in recent years. Six of those cases were brought to light by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in cooperation with local and federal law enforcement, earning the CIW a commendation from FBI Director Robert Mueller.

Not only has the FTGE denied involvement, but indeed now they are rejecting a real solution offered by the workers to these deplorable working conditions. CIW in recent years has led historic campaigns, with the help of allies like the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, to rally consumers and negotiate human rights based agreements with fast food industry leaders Yum! Brands and McDonald’s. These agreements called for the creation of a third-party monitoring system protecting against labor abuses and for these purchasers to agree to pass a penny per pound of tomatoes purchased directly to workers who picked the produce.

Unfortunately, the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange has worked to thwart the implementation of these agreements, claiming they opted out for business reasons and fear legal liability under anti-trust and racketeering laws.

On the business front, the agreements would not cost growers a penny. The FTGE had implemented surcharges on tomatoes in the past for purchasers similar to the penny per a pound on three different occasions -- for chemicals, palletizing shipments and for fuel. As Lucas Benitez testified, "The only difference with our agreement would be that instead of Monsanto or Exxon getting paid, the money would go to impoverished workers."

As for the legal fears, during the hearing Sen. Sanders introduced a letter from 26 law professors and statements from two major "white shoe" law firms with major anti-trust practices, both stating that these concerns are without legal merit.

So why would the FTGE keep up its campaign to railroad these agreements? Vanden Heuvel and Kaufmann on TheNation.com put it best:

"Indeed, it's not too much of a stretch to view [Reggie] Brown [FTGE president] and his cohorts as 21st century George Wallaces or Bull Connors, standing in the way of the progress of human rights in our own nation."

As Wallace and Connor stood between civil rights activists and progress towards Dr. Martin Luther King’s vision of "the beloved community," today FTGE stands in the way of implementing human rights-based agreements taking steps towards creating more dignified working conditions in Florida’s fields. Still FTGE dares to call itself a "progressive" industry.

In response to this standstill, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and their supporters in the Alliance for Fair Food have begun a campaign modeled after the tactics of 19th century abolitionists who led what amounted to the world's first human rights campaign which later abolished the slave trade. Their petition urges Burger King, the Florida Tomatoes Growers Exchange and food industry leaders to cooperate with the farmworkers to improve the wages and conditions for the workers who pick their tomatoes, and join an industry-wide effort to eliminate modern-day slavery and human rights abuses from Florida's fields.

Farmworkers have reached out to labor leaders, human rights activists, churches, and students. Supporters across the country have begun educating their communities on the conditions in Immokalee and how this relates to their trips to the grocery store or the salad bar or the sandwiches they purchase for lunch.

You can read more about their effort and sign the petition here.

(Jeffrey Buchanan is the communications director for the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights. He notes that another great way to support grassroots human rights activists -- including the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and groups like ACORN in New Orleans, as well as leaders in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Chad and Darfur -- is by bidding at charitybuzz.com during the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Online Auction.)

(Photo of Sen. Edward Kennedy and Lucas Benitez of Coalition of Immokalee Workers from CIW's Web site)

Labels: agriculture, coalition of immokalee workers, Florida, slavery, social movements

Well, I saw the bo weavil, Lord, a-circle in the air
Next time I seed him, Lord, he had his family there
Bo weavil told the farmer that "I 'tain't got ticket fare"
Sucks all the blossom and leave your hedges square
Bo weavil, bo weavil, where your native home?
"Most anywhere they raise cotton and corn"
Bo weavil, bo weavil, "Oughtta treat me fair"
The next time I did you had your family there.

-- Charley Patton, "Mississippi Bo Weavil Blues"

A humble beetle, the boll weevil has done so much to shape Southern culture. After crossing the Rio Grande into Texas in the 1890s, the voracious pest went on to devastate the South's cotton economy -- and helped bring about the region's economic diversification. It went on to star in numerous songs by blues, folk and rock artists, and even lent its name to sports teams such as the Piedmont Boll Weevils, a minor league baseball outfit from the textile mill town of Kannapolis, N.C. (renamed the Kannapolis Intimidators after NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt bought into the team).

Now more than 100 years after its arrival in the South, the boll weevil has been almost completely eradicated -- gone from "virtually every farm east of the Mississippi River and 94 percent of the entire country," according to a fascinating story in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

"Definitely, the boll weevil was a bad boy," said Kevin Hendrix, a fourth-generation farmer harvesting cotton outside this east Georgia town. "We're sure glad he's gone."

Labels: agriculture, southern culture, southern history

It just keeps getting worse. First there was the late freeze, then the drought, and now a killer heat wave said to be responsible for 49 deaths is taking a further toll on crops. Here's a roundup...

Heat, drought take toll on N.E. Mississippi crops:

[Farmer Doug] Mitchell said this year's drought and heat are the worst since his father started the farm in 1963. The farm has received less than 20 inches of rain this year. And, the average high temperature for August has been 101 degrees.


"What we thought was going to be a record soybean crop three weeks ago, now we might not even be having one," said [Charlie Stokes, an area agronomy agent with the Mississippi State University Extension Service], who is responsible for eight Northeast Mississippi counties. "It's gotten pretty bad."

Drought, heat take toll on N.C. crops:

The heat follows a cold beginning to the year for farmers. A harsh Easter Sunday freeze was the bellwether of the growing season, killing the fruit-producing blossoms of apples and peaches and freezing grapes, strawberries and blueberries. North Carolina’s peach and apple crops will be the lowest since 1955, state agriculture officials said.

Sizzling weather only exaggerated the demise of corn, hay and other row crops. With six days of extreme heat last week and the threat of more 100-degree days to follow, farmers said what corn they have is now baking in the fields, forcing them to harvest early or experience an even larger loss.

A lost season in Asheville NC:

The troubles extend statewide, mainly because of the drought. In the mountains, parts of Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties remain in an extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor of North Carolina. The remaining mountain counties are in severe drought.

Production of corn, hay, apples, peaches, grapes and soybeans is down in North Carolina, according to the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

"It’s quickly turning into a bad year for many North Carolina crops," Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said in a statement. "The damage caused by the Easter freeze is being magnified by the extreme heat and drought. And if we don't get some rain soon, the situation is only going to get worse."

Heat wave takes toll on Orangeburg, SC region:

Sonny Zorn, a retired Denmark farmer and agriculture teacher, said producers who borrowed to plant their crops this year are going to suffer when the loans come due and the crops bring less or fail because of the drought.

[..]

According to trade publications such as "Farm Journal," livestock producers can expect lower profit for their products because of high feed cost, low grain yields and premium hay prices.

Drought conditions are creating hardships for KY farmers:

Our long stretch of hot, dry weather is adding to an already hard year for farmers in Kentuckiana. Not having enough rain has made it tough to take care of crops and feed the livestock. It's been so hard, some farmers have had to skip the Kentucky State Fair this year. WAVE 3's Shayla Reaves caught up with one woman who knows this hardship first hand.

"This time, it's just terrible. I don't know how to explain it. I've never seen anything like this," says Shannon Nutter of Nutter Dairy Farms.

Alabama Farmer resolute after rotten season:

"I just like growin’ stuff."

Bill Terry, 72, says it again, sitting with his wife, Shirley, on the back porch of their Chalybeate Springs home, 12 acres crammed with produce and flowers surrounding him, a glass of iced tea in his hand.

The repetition is an effort at explanation, a declaration of why he’s not crying. A pronouncement that notwithstanding a late freeze that erased his early labors, a drought that starved a second planting and heat that wiped out a third, he’s trying again next year.

Green or not, tomatoes feel fried in Huntsville AL:

For 10 days its been hot enough to stretch a concrete bridge by nearly an inch, hot enough to slow a dairy cow's milk production by a quarter and hot enough to all but stop the maturation of a tomato on the vine.

On Saturday, Huntsville nearly broke a local record, set in 1952, for the most consecutive days with a high above 100 degrees. "We missed it by a degree," said Mike Richter, meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

[..]

This had already been a trying year for local farmers, who had lost blueberries, peaches and apples to a late freeze. A summer drought followed by intense heat just about wiped out several other crops, said Lambert, who has had to look to Georgia and South Carolina for cucumbers, squash and corn.

No drought relief in sight in Tennessee:

Extreme drought has parched Tennessee's crops, killed its lawns and endangered its livestock and outdoor pets. Creeks have run dry, water tables have dropped and tap water in some communities tastes like the algae that is blooming in the shrunken Cumberland River.

[..]

Ninety-one percent of Tennessee has been parched by extreme drought, suffering major crop and pasture losses and widespread water shortages or restrictions. A growing area of the state, particularly the southern agricultural counties, is now in an exceptional drought emergency, facing devastating crop losses and widespread water emergencies as reservoirs, streams and wells dry up.

And the list goes on and on.

How hot is it?

It's so hot, TVA had to shut down a nuclear power reactor at Browns Ferry due to unacceptably high water temperatures in the Tennessee River caused by intake water used to cool the reactor core being discharged back into the river.

Or as we say down here in the South, "it's hotter than a two dollar pistol."

Labels: agriculture, climate

In early 2005, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offered a sweet deal to some decidedly not-so-sweet polluters: industrial-scale livestock farms.

In exchange for paying a small fee and agreeing to participate in an air quality data collection program, factory farms would essentially be exempt from Clean Air Act requirements for 30 months. About 2,600 farms -- most of them raising hogs -- signed up. The participating farms are located across the country, including North Carolina and Texas, the Associated Press reports.

But the deal angered environmental advocacy groups, who sued the EPA. This week, a federal appeals court issued its ruling in the case -- siding with the EPA against the environmentalists, according to the AP:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ... found in its 2-1 ruling that the EPA was exercising a valid use of the agency's enforcement discretion by entering into agreements with the farms.

Luke Cole of the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment told the AP that his group was reviewing the decision to decide on the next course of action.

Labels: agriculture, environment, environmental justice

Severe drought conditions -- the worst in more than a hundred years -- continue around the South, with widespread total crop losses reported in Alabama. Recent heavy rains reduced drought severity in some areas, and this six-week animiated map shows some improvement. But D2 (severe), D3 (extreme) and D4 (exceptional) drought conditions continue to affect areas in eight Southern states.

The drought is still centered over Northern Alabama, extending north up the Tennessee Valley through East Tennessee and into Southeastern Kentucky, into Georgia to the east and Mississippi to the west. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, "The impact of the drought on farmers remains extremely serious, with Alabama corn still rated 88 percent poor to very poor, and soybeans at 85 percent poor or worse."

On Monday, the entire state of Alabama was declared a drought disaster area by the US Department of Agriculture. The New York Times reports that many farmers have gone through their cash reserves and are facing bankruptcy. Others are selling off cattle herds because there's nothing to feed them. A farmer's trade group director said "Nobody alive has ever seen it like this." The governors of Georgia and Alabama are calling for divine intervention through prayer.

Combined with the Easter Freeze, which damaged many fruit and vegetable crops, the drought is shaping up to be a widespread economic disaster for agriculture all over the South.

Labels: agriculture, Alabama, climate, economy

We've all heard the worrisome reports recently about the disappearance of honey bees to a mysterious malady known as Colony Collapse Disorder. While that's obviously bad news for bees and those of us who depend on the crops they pollinate, it does offer a good opportunity to better educate ourselves about the important ecological role pollinators play.

To that end, this Sunday, June 24 marks the start of National Pollinator Week, sponsored by the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign and the Coevolution Institute. There will be events taking place all week long throughout the country, including several events taking place across the South, where colony losses have been widespread:

* This Sunday, June 24, the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia will host an event at the Long Branch Nature Center in Arlington that will include a presentation on the natural history of bee pollination and tips to attract pollinators, as well as a workshop on building houses for bees.

* On June 26 and 28, the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks in Fayetteville, Ark. will be offering educational presentations on bats, bees, butterflies and other pollinators.

* Also on June 26, the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science in Tallahassee, Fla. will host a day-long event featuring lectures, a living bee hive and a display of beekeeping tools.

* Monarchs Across Georgia is using the week to publicize its Pollinator Garden Certification for Peach State residents interested in making their backyard, schoolyard, workplace, or community a pollinator-friendly habitat.

And on Friday, June 29, the U.S. Postal Service will release its beautiful new Pollination stamp series (see above). Related to that, noted artist Stan Herd will create a one-acre crop art version of the stamp's dogface butterfly in a farm field in Kansas.

For more information on these and other events, click here.

Labels: agriculture, environment

This year's "doubly whammy" of an April freeze and severe droughts are causing serious problems for farmers and others around the South.

The latest update (June 19th) from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows vast areas of the South experiencing severe to exceptional drought conditions:



From their National Weather Service summary of the situation:

The Southern and Eastern United States: Heavy rain fell on parts of the dry areas now extending from the Gulf Coast northward through the mid-Atlantic, the Ohio Valley, and upstate New York, but significant totals generally evaded the areas experiencing the most intense drought conditions, and even in areas where several stations reported multiple inches of precipitation for the week, those reports were interspersed with nearby reports of little or no rain. [..]

The rains were sufficient to eliminate D0 in western and southern Louisiana and adjacent Texas, southern Florida, and a few pockets in the mid-Atlantic, but conditions persisted or intensified elsewhere, with D0 expanding northward through much of Ohio, Indiana, western Pennsylvania, and upstate New York. The D1 through D4 areas all expanded somewhat, primarily to the north and south or southwest, in areas between the Mississippi River and the Appalachians, except along the immediate Gulf Coast. Many locations from the south-central sections of Mississippi and Alabama northward through southern Tennessee have recorded 7 to 12 inches less than normal precipitation during the last 90 days, with some of these areas more than 20 inches below normal since mid-June 2006.

In Mississippi, corn, soybean, and cotton crops are threatened. Experts say that Mississippi has endured droughts before, but possibly none as severe as this. There are also concerns about the timing of the drought and its effect on early-planted crops that are now at the point where they need water the most.

Farmers in Georgia are predicting severe crop damage, in addition to the damage caused by the Easter Freeze. May is normally a dry month in Georgia, but May of 2007 set new record lows, with no rain at all recorded in some areas of the state and only trace amounts in others. Peanut farmers were happy to see the rains from a recent tropical storm, calling it a "$100 million rain."

In Kentucky, the Bluegrass Region had the highest May rain deficit in recorded history. Experts say that the only comparable droughts occurred in 1930 and 1941, causing serious crop losses and forced livestock sales. The NOAA Climate Prediction Center says that drought conditions are expected to persist through August and spread northward into Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

The situation is even worse in Tennessee. Farmers say that if there isn't significant rain in the next two weeks, many of the state's corn crops will be a total loss. And some say that even if the rain started today they would only expect about 50% of normal yield. East Tennessee rainfall is 11.5 inches below normal for this time of year. Sen. Lamar Alexander visited the region, and said that this was the worst recorded drought in 118 years. He said he wasn't there to "make a lot of promises," but would report back to Congress and do whatever he could to get help for Tennessee farmers affected by the freeze and now the drought. The entire state had already been declared a disaster area from the freeze, triggering federal farm aid. The Knoxville paper reports that reduced hay and forage crops and drying ponds are resulting in beef and dairy herd sell offs, and produce prices are expected to be higher across the board.

The worst conditions, however, may be in Alabama. 38% of the state is experiencing "exceptional drought" conditions, and 78% of the state's pastures, 68% of its cotton crops, and 48% of its peanut crops are in "poor" or "very poor" condition. State climatologist and University of Alabama Huntsville professor John Christy called it a "really unprecedented situation."

TVA, the nation's largest utility, gets only about 10% of its power from hydroelectric generators at its dams, but it's their cheapest source of power. The drought has severely limited their hydro generating capacity. It's down 32% for the year, and runoff into TVA lakes is down 39%. TVA says drought-related losses could total $300 million for 2007.

With rainfall deficits in double digits all over the South and up to 20 inches in some areas, water conservation measures are being urged and some local governments are enforcing restrictions. Birmingham has set quotas with heavy surcharges for those who exceed them. Atlanta has banned weekday outdoor water use and in one suburban county violators can get a fine of up to $1000 and up to 60 days in jail. Columbia Co. Georgia is shutting off the water to repeat offenders. Neighbors are calling to report other neighbors caught watering their lawns and those with "suspiciously green" yards.

And if all that's not bad enough, there's this. Now it's getting serious.

With the freeze in April and now the drought, we're not quite sure what to expect next. A plague of locusts? Perhaps Kurt Vonnegut was on to something when he said "I think that the Earth's immune system is trying to get rid of us." Let's all hope Mother Nature takes pity on us and sends some rain our way soon.

Labels: agriculture, climate, environment

Wildfires in drought-stricken areas of the South have forced evacuations in Florida and the largest ever wildfire in Georgia, which has consumed more than 100,000 acres, is still burning. Firefighting efforts are being hampered by low humidity and high winds.

The drought and the Easter Freeze are also affecting crops and livestock, according to the latest USDA farm reports.

• In Florida, "Hay growth is very limited with supplies very short. Volusia County feed stores are rationing hay only to existing customers. Soil moisture supplies were rated very short to mostly short in the Panhandle, Big Bend, and southern Peninsula areas. Soil moisture remained very short over the central Peninsula."

• In Alabama, "Drought conditions throughout Alabama continue to worsen. There are many locations that have reached precipitation deficits greater than 10 inches since the beginning of the year, with some nearing a 20 inch deficit over the past 14 months. Extreme drought conditions have enveloped much of the northern part of the state, while severe drought conditions continue to move south." 33% of corn and 43% of winter wheat crops are reported as "poor" or "very poor."

• In Arkansas, "Some producers were harvesting their freeze damaged winter wheat crop for hay. With continued pasture and range condition improvements, livestock remained in fair to good condition." 56% of the winter wheat crop is reported as "poor" or "very poor."

• In Kentucky, "Fifty-four percent of the winter wheat crop had headed, still well behind last year’s 81 percent and the five-year average of 61 percent. The crop is still in very poor condition with seventy-four percent rated poor or very poor. Of the crop left in the field, producers expect greatly reduced yields."

• In North Carolina, "Another week of above normal temperatures dominated the State. Highs ranged from 84 to 94 degrees. [..]Statewide, soil moisture levels are rated at 5% very short, 53% short, 39% adequate, and 3% surplus." 81% of the apple crop, 65% of barley, 64% of rye, and 96% of the peach crop is reported as "poor" or "very poor."

• In South Carolina, 75% of the apple crop, 60% of cucumbers, 93% of peaches, and 61% of winter wheat is reported as "poor" or "very poor".

• in Tennessee, "The State's fruit trees continued to digress as virtually the entire peach crop was rated in very poor condition, while three-fourths of apples were rated in this worst category. Cattle were rated in mostly good-to-fair condition with some cattlemen concerned about declining herd conditions due to poor pastures and hay shortages."

• Georgia appears hardest hit: "Lingering drought conditions continued to have a negative impact on crops, hayfields, and pastures. Farmers desperately needed rain to help crops recover from dry weather and freeze damage. Small grains production has been severely affected by the drought. Pastures and hayfields were not growing. Some cattle producers have been forced to begin reducing their herd. Freeze damaged grass and small grains were being harvested for hay to feed starving livestock. Planting of dryland crops has come to a standstill due to the lack of soil moisture." 65% of range and pasture land, 97% of apple crops, 61% of hay, and 87% of peach crops are reported as "poor" or "very poor".

Comments from farm districts around the state indicate a dire situation.

"We're still in desperate need of rainfall to help pastures and crops to recover from dry weather and freeze damaged condition."

"Small grain production has been severely affected by the dry weather; pastures and hayfields are not growing at all; cattle producers have no hay and some have been forced to begin herd reductions."

"Rolled some fescue hay and folks are lining up to purchase it...every bale of anything is moving...folks are chasing the growers down the road to buy it..."

"The drought has begun to have some serious effects on us. We are starting to reach a critical point in terms of pasture rejuvenation and hay production. Most of our spring planting has screeched to a halt. It's looking very bad."

"Normal planting of cotton and peanuts has ceased. Waiting for rain. Some are baling small grains for hay to feed starving cattle and goats. Hay reserves are almost exhausted and cattle need feed."

"Forest fires are a major concern. We are fighting about a 5000 acre forest fire in Kirkland at the Roundabout. Lost various ages of timber. Drought is making forest fires worst and is hurting farmers. Between the freeze, wind, drought and fire, we are in a disaster situation."

Around the South, crop damage from the Easter Freeze is still being assessed. In Arkansas, a state of emergency has been declared in 52 counties. North Carolina agriculture officials put the state's loss at over $111 million, and it could be more. In Tennessee, the Governor has requested the federal government to declare an agricultural disaster in all 95 counties.

One might naturally begin to wonder if all of this will lead to shortages or increase our reliance on imported fruits and vegetables. Recent revelations that only 1.3% of imported fish, vegetables, fruit and other foods are inspected do not make that prospect very appealing, especially when this small number of inspections frequently finds food not fit for human consumption.

And hurricane season is just around the corner...

Labels: agriculture

The South is among the regions of the United States hit hard by colony collapse disorder, in which large numbers of honeybees are dying off and disappearing, never to be seen again. The United States in recent months has lost about a quarter of its colonies, five times the typical winter losses.

The problem, which has also been documented in a number of European nations and Brazil, has enormous implications for food security and the economy, as bees pollinate more than 90 crops, including apples, soybeans, citrus fruit, peaches, blueberries and melons.

Some have blamed pesticides for poisoning the bees. Others have suggested that cell phone radiation could be disrupting the creatures' navigating systems. Yet others have pointed to a fungus.

But as Matt Hutaff notes in an article in The Simon, if pesticides or cell phones were the culprit, we would expect that the bee deaths would be a global phenomenon and would have happened years ago. CCD, on the other hand, was observed in recently months in isolated areas and then spread rapidly. Hutaff suggests another possible trigger: genetically modified crops. He observes:

Most genetically-modified seeds have a transplanted segment of DNA that creates a well-known bacterium, bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), in its cells. Normally Bt is not a problem -- it's a naturally-occurring pesticide that's been used as a spray for years by farmers looking to control crop damage from butterflies. And it's effective at helping beekeepers keep bees alive, too -- Bt is sprayed under hive lids to keep those pesky wax moths from attacking.

But "instead of the bacterial solution being sprayed on the plant, where it is eaten by the target insect, the genes that contain the insecticidal traits are incorporated into the genome of the farm crop," writes biologist and beekeeper John McDonald. "As the transformed plant grows, these Bt genes are replicated along with the plant genes so that each cell contains its own poison pill that kills the target insect.

Canadian beekeepers, for instances, have observed the disappearance of the wax moth even in hives not treated with Bt, presumably due to bees foraging in fields planted with transgenic crops. In addition, a trial of genetically modified crops in the Netherlands reportedly led to CCD in an area within about 60 miles of the test plantings.

It may not be only the transgenic nature of these crops that's to blame: Many seeds from which genetically modified crops are grown are first treated with systemic insecticides that may appear later in the plants' nectar and pollen, notes a University of Florida entomology researcher.

Grist magazine points out that CCD primarily afflicts large-scale bee operations that drive the hives across the country "chasing the bloom," with small-scale honey producers still relatively unscathed. Grist is skeptical that GM crops alone are to blame, speculating instead that a variety of factors -- including GM crops and pesticides -- may be compromising bees' immune systems, making them susceptible to whatever causes CCD. But the article ends on note both hopeful and practical:

The answer to this dire problem is delicious. Support your local foodshed -- and give extra-special love to your local honey producers.

Labels: agriculture, economy, environment