Helping Honey Bees

You guys know I have a sweet spot (pun intended) for honey bees. They are one of natures greatest workers and their livelyhood is seriously theatened by Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Without honey bees humans would have to find manual ways to pollinate plants at costs that could rise into the billions very quickly. Thankfully, by spreading the news about the honey bees people are starting to take action to ensure these little guys are with us a very long time. Some companies are even geting involved in the cause because what's good for the honey bees is good for business.

Did you know that one of out every three bites of food an average American eats is directly attributed to honey bee pollination? Wow! We need honey bees more than they need us or so we used to think. Prior to the rise of CCD, honey bees had been doing what they'd always done - pollinate flowering plants like strawberries, peanuts, and mangos. Almonds are 100% dependent on honey bees for pollination and are even shipped to almond orchards in California each spring to pollinate millions of trees.

But what does Haagen Dazs have to do with honey bees? Everything! More than 50% of the ingredients used in their ice cream come from plants pollinated by honey bees. No honey bees means no ice cream. And even though I don't eat ice cream, many people love it and couldn't imagine life without it. So we have to save honey bees in order to save ice cream.

Back to Haagen-Dazs. How are they helping honey bees? In 2008 they partnered with Penn State University and the University of California at Davis to help with research, outreach, and student training. Private companies helping public universities with research initiatives is not new. This much needed funding not only helps the cause but also spreads the word about programs that benefit the greater good.

How can you help? Learn all you can about honey bees and Colony Collapse Disorder. Scientists are still trying to figure out what causes CCD while working tirelessly to stop it before it's too late. Extinction of the honey bee is not something anyone wants but it could soon become a reality.

You can also help the cause by creating a bee friendly garden. We always have lots of bees in our garden and even though Mom yells at me to leave them alone when I try to play with them, I know they won't hurt me because they are my friends. Haagen-Dazs has instructions on planting your own garden here.

You can also eat ice cream! Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Honey Bee ice cream was created to honor the honey bees that make so many foods possible. By purchasing this ice cream you are helping fund the research that will hopefully save the bees.

Haagen-Dazs also has a cool tool on their site to make a bee. It's not a real bee but a special Haagen-Dazs bee that you can email to your friends. You can create your own special bee by selecting its hair, head, eyes, mouth, body, and collar. (Note: I tried to make and send a bee and it didn't work. I'm going to try again later, but if you successfully make and send one please leave me a comment.)

Mom doesn't really eat ice cream but she loves honey bees as much as I do. She doesn't know what she would do if they disappeared and neither do I. With your help, we can save the honey bee. A world without honey bees would not be a sweet world. Please do your part to keep these guys pollinating the world. Catch the buzz at http://www.helpthehoneybees.com/.