‘Bitter Honey’ Author Links Bee Vulnerability to Industrial Farming

In a Civil Eats interview, pollinator researcher and author Jennie Durant identifies pests, pathogens, pesticides, monoculture-driven poor nutrition and weak policy as interconnected threats to bees. She points to diversified farming, reduced pesticide use and habitat restoration as solutions.

The Bigger Picture

Bee decline is not solely a pesticide problem. The agricultural system concentrates forage into short monoculture blooms while pressuring farmers and beekeepers toward high-output practices. Durable recovery requires conservation funding, stronger pesticide oversight and farm policy that rewards diversity.