What to do against the extinction of bees?

What would a supermarket look like without bees?

The honey season lasts from April to August. For this reason, we would like to draw attention to the importance of bees. Thus, we occupy ourselves with the question of what our supermarkets would look like if there were no bees? 60% of the products would have disappeared from the shops.

What if there were no bees? 60% of the products would have disappeared from the stores.

With the exception of a few bananas and pineapples, which are not pollinated by bees but by other animals, the fruit department is empty. The shelves in other departments are also cantilevered. This is what the supermarket will look like after the bees disappear. The German chain Penny emptied one of its shops for demonstration purposes. 1,500 items, or about 60% of the products, disappeared from the market.

Mathias Götti Limacher, central president of the Swiss Beekeeping Association, estimates that the shelves in Switzerland would be as empty after the disappearance of the bees as in Germany. As far as diversity is concerned, about 80% of food is pollinated by insects.

Photo: Rewe Group

Nutrition is one-sided and inadequate

According to Götti Limacher, it is difficult to predict whether a famine will start when honeybees and wild bees die. In terms of calories, only a third of the food would disappear. The consequence, however, would be that our diet could become even more unbalanced and therefore possibly inadequate.

The disappearance of bees would also have massive effects, which would have impacts not only on the purchase of food: On the one hand, there are many products, such as cosmetics, which contain substances that depend on bees and which can no longer be purchased in this form. On the other hand, the absence of pollination in particular would seriously damage the biodiversity of our ecosystems.

We could do more

After all, the death of bees is not imminent: according to Götti Limacher, there are still many honeybees in Switzerland. In Germany, they are also actively protected, although the association’s president admits that there are many additional measures that have not yet been implemented.

Source: www.20min.ch

Protecting bees: 7 things you can do

1. Plant bee-friendly plants

A bee-friendly plant on a balcony, a fruit tree in the garden or wild plants. All of these provide variety for honeybees, butterflies, bumblebees and the many small solitary bees. Combined with each other, this creates oases for the city’s hungry pollinators.

2. Choose honey from your region

Almost 80% of our honey consumption comes from imports. Supermarket honeys are often blends of honeys from outside the EU. They are likely to contain honey from South America – where genetically modified plants are grown on a large scale, the pollen of which then goes into the honey. In addition to the environmental pollution caused by long transport routes, bee diseases can also be introduced. It is therefore logical to prefer honey from your region directly from the beekeeper.

3. Decreasing pesticides

You should refrain from using pesticides, herbicides and biocides that are harmful to bees in your home and garden. Cocktails of several poisons can be fatal.

4. Choose bee-friendly foods

Seasonal food from regional organic farming is generally better, as no bee-harming pesticides are used. Be fair to the producers: The quality and friendliness of bees is worth the price, so you pay a fair price for your honey.

5. Stop bee diseases – always rinse honey pots

Diseases like American foulbrood are introduced here. The triggering endospores are spread, among other things, by honey residues in glass containers. In the autumn, the bees fly over and bring the deadly disease back to their home colonies. It is therefore best to wash honey jars in the dishwasher before throwing them into the glass container or to be careful with reusable jars when buying them.

6. Provide nesting facilities for wild bees

300 of the 560 native wild bee species are ‘Red Listed’. Provide nesting opportunities for wild bees. It does not have to be a huge “bee or insect hotel”, bees can also be helped with little effort. Many wild bees are demanding, so it depends on good design.

7. Becoming a bee sponsor

With a bee sponsorship you actively support the sustainable strategy of installing and maintaining the bee for its rescue in the city. As a patron, you will receive a glass of honey from your sponsors every year. There is also an individual sponsorship certificate.

At Univerre, we hold a deep appreciation for the invaluable role of bees in our ecosystem. Inspired by their industrious nature, we have aptly named our new headquarters “The Hive”.

Source: www.bienenretter.de

Honey from the region

Do you already know this honey from the region? These beekeepers have put a lot of effort into their packaging design, because all honey jars are screen printed or digitally printed.
Many times such honey jars can be reused. You can return them to the beekeeper for refilling, or you can reuse them for private purposes.

A wide range of honey jars

In order to pack your honey perfectly, you will find a large selection of packing jars in our online catalogue.

Order honey pots from 12 neutral pieces and from 24 personalized pieces

Honey jars and many other packaging jars can be ordered on Glassmania from as little as 12 pieces. If you wish to personalise your jars, this can be done on Glassmania already from 24 pieces.

Do you have any questions? Do not hesitate to contact us.