Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/375622
Savannah Bee Company, a specialty honey and beeswax enterprise based in Savannah, Ga. "The beekeeper we used for honey- combs had to sell off his hives because his bees were starving. His apiary was on the property of a company that harvested wood and they decided to kill off all the under- brush to help the wood grow and the bees had nothing to feed off after that." Dowdle adds that Savannah Bee has been able to continue to produce its food and beauty products thanks to a network of beekeepers. "But the honey has become more difficult to source," she adds. "The price for tupelo honey has increased 50 percent in the last year. Across the board it's going up." Working Toward a Solution The University of Minnesota's Bee Lab, founded by renowned scientist Marla Spivak, a MacArthur fellow, is at the fore- front of trying to solve the mystery. Lab worker Elaine Evans has studied bee diver- sity for 20 years, observing fields once sway- ing with nectar-rich wildflowers and clover CLOSER LOOK: THE RIPPLE EFFECT S ome might say it's easier to list which foods wouldn't be affected by the decimation of bees. More than 85 percent of all flowering plants require a pollinator. "Without pollinators, we'd be looking at a dramatically different food landscape," says Sarina Jepsen of The Xerces Society. Here are just some of the foods that will be hit hard—by supply losses and skyrocketing prices—if the bee crisis isn't resolved. Almonds Not just the nut itself, but any almond- forward products, from milks to snack and chocolate bars Oilseeds Cotton, sunflower, coconut, and rape seed all depend on pollination Dairy Less milk and cheese, since dairy cows feed on insect-pollinated alfalfa Tea & Spices As coffee becomes at-risk, so do tea leaves; and say goodbye to real vanilla in ice cream, allspice in baked goods, and nutmeg completing many an ethnic dish Honey Back to the days of ancient Rome, when citizens paid their taxes in honey instead of gold Chocolate Cacao beans are pollinated by midges, tiny insects that resemble mosquitos Hamburgers Ranchers feed livestock a diet of alfalfa hay, which requires pollination Coffee Beans wouldn't disappear completely, but the price would climb, says Joel Gardner of the University of Minnesota's Bee Lab 30 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com