Vandana Shiva, Indian activist and environmentalist, talks to us about the importance of bees, on the occasion of the world day dedicated to them
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him"The protection of bees is an ecological duty, bringing them to extinction is an ecological crime. A threat to bees is a threat to humanity."
Vandana Shiva, President of Navdanya International and Indian activist and environmentalist, talks about the importance of bees, on the occasion of the world day dedicated to them. The global collapse in insect numbers is a threat to nearly every other species on the planet, as insects serve as the primary food source for thousands of animal species.
In the last 50 years, agrotoxic products have been spread everywhere and are driving bees to extinction. The choices facing humanity are clear, to work for a poison-free future that will save bees, farmers, our food and humanity, or to continue using poisons in agriculture, jeopardizing our common future, proceeding blindly towards extinction thanks to the arrogance with which it is believed that bees can be replaced with artificial intelligence and robots.
"Robotic bees could pollinate plants in the event of an insect apocalypse," reports a recent Guardian headline, which reports how Dutch scientists "believe they can create swarms of bee-like drones to pollinate plants when real insects are extinct".
"In 15 years we foresee a crisis in which there will not be enough insects in the world for pollination and most of our vitamins and fruits will be gone," said Eylam Ran, CEO of Edete Precision Technologies for Agriculture. . His company claims that “his artificial pollinator can increase the work of bees and ultimately replace them. The system mirrors the work of the honey bee, starting with a mechanical collection of pollen from flowers and ending with a targeted distribution using LIDAR sensors, the same technology used in some self-driving cars ”.
But there are no substitutes for ecosystem biodiversity and the gifts of bees. Every culture, every faith has seen bees as teachers - capable of giving, of creating abundance, of creating the future of plants through pollination, and of contributing to our food security and well-being. Today's seed generation is transformed into the next one only thanks to the gift offered by the pollinator. Navdanya's research has shown that more than 30% of the food we eat is produced by bees and pollinators.
The economy of nature is a gift economy. In every tradition the bee has been exemplified as the teacher of the gift. Buddhist texts point out that from a multitude of living things, bees and other pollinating animals take what they need to survive without harming the beauty and vitality of their livelihood. For humans, acting in the manner of bees is a manifestation of compassionate and conscious life.
St. John Chrysostom wrote: "The bee is more honorable than other animals, not because it works, but because it works for others" (12th Homily). In the Islamic tradition, the 16th chapter of the Koran is called "The Bee". This chapter is known to be the revelation of God. In the Hindu tradition, there is a wonderful quote in the Srimad Mahabhaghavatam scripture which reads: “Like a bee that collects honey from all kinds of flowers, the wise ones seek everywhere the truth and they see only the good in all religions ”.
Together as different species and different cultures and through an ecological agriculture and food without poisons, we regenerate the biodiversity of our pollinators and restore their sacredness. We have the creative power to stop the sixth mass extinction and climate catastrophe without the need for false technocratic solutions.
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World bee day: let's save the "gardening" insects of our mother earth
