Dive Brief:
- The Obama administration announced Tuesday the first National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators. The Washington Post said the bee crisis has been referred to as a "potential ecological disaster."
- Bees, birds, bats, and butterflies all are responsible for pollinating a number of important food and agriculture items, including commercial fruit and vegetable crops and alfalfa and clover that make up cattle feed — $15 billion annual activities, according to estimates.
- This announcement comes on the heels of a recent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that honeybee losses have reached their second-highest level. The strategy allows for restoring 7 million acres of bee habitat over five years.
Dive Insight:
With the White House in their corner armed with this strategy from the Pollinator Health Task Force, announced, perhaps the bees will get a fighting chance, which could affect a quarter of the American food supply.
Perhaps this announcement was fortuitous, considering the president's defense of bees at the Easter Egg Roll earlier this year.