Fourth Industrial Revolution

Honey is killing bees. Here's why

A honeycomb filled with honey is seen at beekeeper Leonid Baranenko's bee-garden in the village of Mikhaylovka, Belarus June 24, 2017. Picutre taken June 24, 2017. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko - RC1AC29A8560

A study in the journal Science found that a significant amount of the world’s honey contains traces of neo-nicotinoids. Image: REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

Chase Purdy
Global Business Reporter, Quartz
Share:
Our Impact
What's the World Economic Forum doing to accelerate action on Fourth Industrial Revolution?
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Fourth Industrial Revolution is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
Stay up to date:

Fourth Industrial Revolution

A recent sampling of honey from around the world honey has given scientists fresh evidence for why so many bees are dying off.

A study published Oct. 6 in the journal Science found that a significant amount of the world’s honey contains traces of neonicotinoids, a class of commonly used pesticides, at levels strong enough to cause brain damage in bees. The chemicals are meant to attack the nervous systems of pests and keep them from eating crops, but it appears they may also hurt bees, which have been dying off in huge numbers in recent years, much to the befuddlement of researchers around the globe.

The amount of neonicotinoids sampled from honey around the globe does not rise to the level that would be dangerous for humans, the research says. Still, it bolsters the suspicion by many scientists that pesticides containing neonicotinoids play a significant role in the declining bee populations.

For the study, researchers analyzed 198 honey samples from around the world, testing them for five common neonicotinoids: acetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiacloprid, and thiamethoxam. They discovered that at least one of those was present in 75% of the samples. And 34% of the samples contained a concentration of the compounds known to be lethal to bees.

“The contamination confirms the inundation of bees and their environments with these pesticides, despite some recent efforts to decrease their use,” the study authors write. The European Union in 2013 placed a partial ban on pesticides with neonicotinoids.

Scientists for years have been trying to figure out exactly what’s causing the global crash in bee populations. They’ve considered car exhaust, pesticides, malnutrition, even stress, among many other causes. In the US, it is estimated that pollinators such as bees are the backbone of $15 billion in crops annually—a number that generated several policy conversations about how to best curb more bees from dying during the Obama administration.

Environmentalists have expressed concern, though, since president Donald Trump assumed office and appointed Scott Pruitt to head the US Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt has been described by some as being especially friendly with the pesticide industry.

Loading...
Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Related topics:
Fourth Industrial RevolutionNature and Biodiversity
Share:
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

Generative AI is rapidly evolving: How governments can keep pace

Karla Yee Amezaga, Rafi Lazerson and Manal Siddiqui

October 11, 2024

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum