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I think the issue with almonds is that by growing them in massive monoculture you create bee deserts for the majority of the year when the almonds aren't flower
by torrance 7y ago
I think the issue with almonds is that by growing them in massive monoculture you create bee deserts for the majority of the year when the almonds aren't flowering. Once the flowers disappear, any remaining bees will starve until the next year. So this criticism could be leveled essentially against almost any large scale monoculture crop.
I'd be interested to know why almonds (and avocados) are usually highlighted here. Are other flowering crops typically grown in more diverse environments?
- lonelappde 7y agoWhich other crops rely on bee pollination? Soy? Corn? Fruits?
- adrian_mrd 7y agoA lot: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crop_plants_pollinated_by_bees https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crop_plants_pollinat...
- pfdietz 7y agoSoy is self-fertile, while corn is wind pollinated.
- amelius 7y agoI'm not sure that is the issue, because beekeepers would move elsewhere after the almond season, right?
- jelliclesfarm 7y agoThere just aren’t enough bees locally to pollinate the hundreds of thousands of acres of almonds that all flower at the same time. And you have to pollinate every flower to get a nut. It’s remarkable what California almond industry has achieved. It’s also unsustainable and harmful to bees.
- hinkley 7y agoOne of these documentaries was claiming that bees aren’t that excited about almond flowers and they will choose anything else to pollinate over them. This to explain why you see almonds growing essentially in dirt. Other flowers would outcompete. Personally I suspect there are plenty of plants that don’t overlap much with almond flowering that you could use.
- csorrell 7y agoAlmonds as a crop aren't going to provide enough nutrients for bees, but yeah, it's an issue anywhere large monocultures exits.