Bees and food security

Imagine opening your fridge to find it empty — no apples, no almonds, no zucchini. That’s the future we’re barreling toward as bee populations plummet. Farmers, scientists, and backyard growers like me are witnessing a chilling trend. Last spring, I stood in my vegetable garden, stunned, as bees smashed into my cabin’s wall until they died. It’s not just my yard — bees are disappearing globally, and it’s a five-alarm fire for humanity and Earth.

Why you should care about declining bee populations

Why should you care? Bees aren’t just buzzing annoyances; they’re the backbone of our food system. “Bees pollinate 70% of the world’s crops,” explains Dr. Dave Goulson, a renowned bee biologist from the University of Sussex (Goulson, 2021). Without them, staples like berries, tomatoes, and coffee could vanish. Picture grocery shelves bare, prices soaring, and diets shrinking to rice and corn. Beyond food, bees keep ecosystems alive, supporting wild plants that sustain wildlife. Lose them, and the dominoes fall — hard.

Bees are vital in plant and animal ecosystems, acting as nature’s most efficient pollinators. They support these systems in several key ways, creating a ripple effect that sustains biodiversity and life as we know it.

For plants, bees are the primary movers of pollen, the powdery substance that fertilizes flowers. As they buzz from bloom to bloom collecting nectar and pollen for food, they transfer pollen grains from a flower’s male parts (anthers) to its female parts (stigma). This process, called pollination, enables plants to produce seeds, fruits, and new generations. Without bees, many plants — like apples, almonds, and wildflowers would fail to reproduce, leading to barren landscapes and shrinking plant diversity.

Animals depend on this plant bounty. Herbivores, from deer to rabbits, rely on bee-pollinated vegetation for nourishment. Fruits and seeds feed birds, bears, and small mammals, while nectar-rich flowers support other pollinators like butterflies. “A single beehive can sustain a whole food web,” says beekeeper Sarah Ellis (Ellis, 2023). Predators, in turn, thrive on these plant-eaters, linking bees to the survival of foxes, hawks, and beyond. Wetlands and forests, stabilized by bee-pollinated plants, shelter countless species.

Bees also boost ecosystem resilience. Thanks to their pollination, diverse plant life prevents soil erosion, stores carbon, and regulates water cycles — benefits that cascade to animals and humans alike. Lose bees, and this intricate web unravels: plants die off, humans and animals starve, and habitats collapse. They’re small, but bees hold up a giant world.

What’s killing the bees?

Pesticides and habitat loss are old news, but a darker theory’s buzzing: geoengineered weather. Dane Wigington, founder of GeoengineeringWatch.org, claims, “Cloud seeding disperses toxic metals like silver iodide, decimating bee populations and disrupting their navigation.” Cloud seeding, spraying chemicals to boost rain or snow, has government backing. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it’s “a tool for water management,” but critics argue it’s poisoning bees. In a 2023 interview, a Colorado official boasted, “We seed clouds to ensure snow for our ski industry.”

Yet, beekeepers like Steve Ellis report, “After seeding, my hives show chemical traces.” Are bees dying because they sense a threat we’re ignoring?

They’re dropping like flies; some say they know something we don’t. Pesticides like neonicotinoids, which linger in pollen, are prime suspects. Habitat loss from sprawling farms and cities starves them. This weather-modification tactic sprays chemicals like silver iodide, aluminum, barium, strontium, and more into clouds to coax rain (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2023). Some theorize these heavy metals poison bees, disrupting their navigation and survival

Science hasn’t nailed it down, but the coincidence is eerie.

Bees are caught in the chemtrail debate

Across the United States, a growing number of states, more than 30 by early 2025, have taken legislative steps to ban what some lawmakers and constituents call “chemtrails,” the spraying of chemicals from aircraft for nefarious purposes like weather control or population manipulation. States like Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, and Kentucky have passed or are debating bills to halt these activities, often conflating them with legitimate weather modification practices like cloud seeding.

Tennessee’s 2024 law, for instance, prohibits the “intentional release of chemicals” into the atmosphere, while Florida’s pending bill aims to outlaw geoengineering entirely.

Yet, despite these efforts, enforcing such bans has proven nearly impossible, leaving lawmakers, citizens, and even bees caught in a sticky web of controversy.

The enforcement challenge is glaring. Airspace is largely federally regulated by the FAA, not states, meaning local laws clash with national jurisdiction. “How do you stop something drifting from Kentucky into Tennessee?” asked climate scientist Alan Robock in a Guardian interview, highlighting the futility of policing the sky. Companies and agencies, like those seeding clouds in Colorado, often ignore state bans, citing economic benefits or federal approval. A Florida senator vented in 2024, “These firms dodge our laws; penalties don’t stick.” Meanwhile, folks who used to be called “conspiracy theorists” point to persistent contrails as evidence of defiance. The result? Bans are symbolic, but toothless.

Enter Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary as of early 2025. Before taking office, RFK Jr. was vocal about chemtrails. In August 2023, on his podcast, he told activist Dane Wigington, “It’s frightening to think somebody’s spraying bioavailable aluminum from planes.” He tweeted in August 2024, “We are going to stop this crime,” responding to a whistleblower video. Campaigning with Donald Trump, he pledged, “On day one… we’re going to get the chemicals out of the chemtrails.” Since assuming office, he’s doubled down. In a March 2025 X post, he wrote, “As states ban geoengineering, HHS will do its part to end this toxin-dousing,” tying it to his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.

Enforcement remains a pipe dream, leaving the skies, and the debate, cloudy. Still, every backyard can plant hope for bees, whatever the weather.

Bee survival in the northern hemisphere

Northern Hemisphere crop production is feeling the sting. In 2025, farmers report patchy yields. Almonds are down 15%, and apples are erratic (USDA, 2025). Backyard growers like me notice fewer pollinated flowers, meaning smaller harvests. Without bees, hand pollination isn’t scalable; food scarcity looms. Ecosystems unravel, too, with fewer wildflowers, which means less biodiversity, threatening everything from birds to bears.

There is hope for saving the bees

But we’re not helpless. Backyard growers can turn the tide. Plant bee magnets like lavender, sunflowers, and clover, diverse blooms that feed them year-round. However, don’t create a worse problem by choosing non-native pollinators. Search for a list of pollinator-attracting plants that are native to your area. Planting a non-native plant species could cause havoc to your ecosystem. Non-native plants tend to drop their seeds before native plants. This allows the plant to become more established and siphoning sunlight, nutrients, water and other resources from native plants. This process is how a non-native plant becomes an invasive plant. So, choose your plants carefully.

Skip pesticides; go organic. “Every garden counts,” says beekeeper Sarah Ellis, who’s nursed hives back to health with flower-rich yards (Ellis, 2023). Water sources and shade help too. It’s a small step, but if we all pitch in, we can save the bees and ourselves. Let’s buzz into action; the future’s too sweet to lose.

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Citations:

• Goulson, D. (2021). Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse. HarperCollins.
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2023). "Cloud Seeding Explained." NOAA.gov.
• Ellis, S. (2023). Personal interview with beekeeper, Minnesota.
• USDA. (2025). "Crop Production Report: Northern Hemisphere, April 2025." USDA.gov.
• Ellis, S. (2023). Personal interview from a podcast with beekeeper, Minnesota.