Bitter Honey: Big Ags Threat to Bees and the Fight to Save Them

ISBN: 1642834009

Author: Durant, Jennie

Condition: New

"An ambitious, important, and utterly captivating book.-Mary Roach, New York Times bestselling author of Replaceable You and StiffA revealing investigation into how industrial farming poses a growing threat to America's beesEach February, a vast yet largely invisible migration takes place across the United States. Semi-trucks stacked high with honey bee colonies head to Californias Central Valley, carrying nearly 99 percent of the nations domesticated bees. There, the bees pollinate millions of acres of blooming almond orchards before fanning out across the country for apples, berries, and other crops. This massive undertaking sustains both beekeepers and farmers-but it comes at a heavy price.In Bitter Honey, Jennie Durant takes readers behind the scenes to reveal the human and ecological cost of industrial farming for bees, beekeepers, and all of us who depend on them. Bees today face a gauntlet of threats: parasites and disease, pesticide exposure, and climate extremes-all magnified by Big Ag. Beekeepers, meanwhile, endure grueling practices just to survive, often losing half their hives each year.But this isnt a story of defeat. Durant introduces us to the beekeepers, farmers, and activists pioneering new ways to support both wild and managed bees. The stakes are high: nearly three-quarters of our major food crops depend on bees and other pollinators. Bitter Honey exposes the crisis threatening the nations bees and spotlights the advocates working to protect them for generations to come.