Anyone who’s been stung by a bee knows they can inflict an outsized pain for such tiny insects. It makes a strange kind of sense, then, that their demise would create an outsized problem for the food system by placing the more than 70 cropsthey pollinate — from almonds to apples to blueberries — in peril.

Although news about Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has died down, commercial beekeepers have seen average population losses of about 30 percent each year since 2006, said Paul Towers, of the Pesticide Action Network. Towers was one of the organizers of a conference that brought together beekeepers and environmental groups this week to tackle the challenges facing the beekeeping industry and the agricultural economy by proxy.

“We are inching our way toward a critical tipping point,” said Steve Ellis, secretary of the National Honey Bee Advisory Board (NHBAB) and a beekeeper for 35 years. Last year he had so many abnormal bee die-offs that he’ll qualify for disaster relief from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

In addition to continued reports of CCD — a still somewhat mysterious phenomenon in which entire bee colonies literally disappear, alien-abduction style, leaving not even their dead bodies behind — bee populations are suffering poor health in general, and experiencing shorter life spans and diminished vitality. And while parasites, pathogens, and habitat loss can deal blows to bee health, research increasingly points to pesticides as the primary culprit.

“In the industry we believe pesticides play an important role in what’s going on,” said Dave Hackenberg, co-chair of the NHBAB and a beekeeper in Pennsylvania.

Of particular concern is a group of pesticides, chemically similar to nicotine, called neonicotinoids (neonics for short), and one in particular called clothianidin. Instead of being sprayed, neonics are used to treat seeds, so that they’re absorbed by the plant’s vascular system, and then end up attacking the central nervous systems of bees that come to collect pollen. Virtually all of today’s genetically engineered Bt corn is treated with neonics. The chemical industry alleges that bees don’t like to collect corn pollen, but new research shows that not only do bees indeed forage in corn, but they also have multiple other routes of exposure to neonics.

The Purdue University study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, found high levels of clothianidin in planter exhaust spewed during the spring sowing of treated maize seed. It also found neonics in the soil of unplanted fields nearby those planted with Bt corn, on dandelions growing near those fields, in dead bees found near hive entrances, and in pollen stored in the hives.

Evidence already pointed to the presence of neonic-contaminated pollen as a factor in CCD. As Hackenberg explained, “The insects start taking [the pesticide] home, and it contaminates everywhere the insect came from.” These new revelations about the pervasiveness of neonics in bees’ habitats only strengthen the case against using the insecticides.

The irony, of course, is that farmers use these chemicals to protect their crops from destructive insects, but in so doing, they harm other insects essential to their crops’ production — a catch-22 that Hackenberg said speaks to the fact that “we have become a nation driven by the chemical industry.” In addition to beekeeping, he owns two farms, and even when crop analysts recommend spraying pesticides on his crops to kill an aphid population, for example, he knows that “if I spray, I’m going to kill all the beneficial insects.” But most farmers, lacking Hackenberg’s awareness of bee populations, follow the advice of the crop adviser — who, these days, is likely to be paid by the chemical industry, rather than by a state university or another independent entity.

Beekeepers have already teamed up with groups representing the almond and blueberry industries — both of which depend on honey bee pollination — to tackle the need for education among farmers. “A lot of [farm groups] are recognizing that we need more resources devoted to pollinator protection,” Ellis said. “We need that same level of commitment on a national basis, from our USDA and EPA and the agricultural chemical industry.”

Unfortunately, it was the EPA itself that green-lit clothianidin and other neonics for commercial use, despite its own scientists’ clear warnings about the chemicals’ effects on bees and other pollinators. That doesn’t bode well for the chances of getting neonics off the market now, even in light of the Purdue study’s findings.

“The agency has, in most cases, sided with pesticide manufacturers and worked to fast-track the approval of new products, and failed in cases when there’s clear evidence of harm to take those products off the market,” Towers said.

Since this is an election year — a time when no one wants to make Big Ag (and its money) mad — beekeepers may have to suffer another season of losses before there’s any hope of action on the EPA’s part. But when one out of every three bites of food on Americans’ plates results directly from honey bee pollination, there’s no question that the fate of these insects will determine our own as eaters.

Ellis, for his part, thinks that figuring out a way to solve the bee crisis could be a catalyst for larger reform within our agriculture system. “If we can protect that pollinator base, it’s going to have ripple effects … for wildlife, for human health,” he said. “It will bring up subjects that need to be looked at, of groundwater and surface water — all the connected subjects associated [with] chemical use and agriculture.”

Claire Thompson is an editorial assistant at Grist.

By Chris Cano
Check out the Midnight garden, a canvas of “living art” powered by compost produced from the food waste of the Gainesville local restaurant community, including The Midnight’s fruit and vegetable scraps which we collect each week via bicycle.

via Building The Midnight’s New Edible Wall Garden [Photo Story] | Gainesville Compost.

As the weather begins to cool off, I find myself spending more time baking in the warmth of my kitchen. Lately, I’ve taken the opportunity to experiment with sourdough breads.

Sourdough is a game entirely unlike bread baking with active dry yeast or a bread machine – it requires a little more time and attention. But, once you learn the basics of keeping a sourdough starter you’ll discover an infinite world of bread making.

Sourdough bread has a rich history, dating back as far as the Ancient Egyptians of 1500 BC. Until only 130 years ago, all bread was leavened with a sourdough starter…

Continued via The Fine Print’s City Farmer: DIY Sourdough Starter and Chestnuts A’Plenty

Rodale announced its findings and posted the full report:

The hallmark of a truly sustainable system is its ability to regenerate itself. When it comes to farming, the key to sustainable agriculture is healthy soil, since this is the foundation for present and future growth.

Organic farming is far superior to conventional systems when it comes to building, maintaining and replenishing the health of the soil. For soil health alone, organic agriculture is more sustainable than conventional. When one also considers yields, economic viability, energy usage, and human health, it’s clear that organic farming is sustainable, while current conventional practices are not.

Or, better, invest in a seed company?

This story behind this offer — this extremely urgent offer — begins in 2003.

After 21 years working in venture capital, Barbara Melera was more than ready to move on. But when she had lunch with a friend who also worked in venture capital, she expected nothing more than a pleasant hour of griping and gossip. Instead, her friend had a life-changing idea.

“I know a company you could buy,” she said, “but if you buy it, we won’t be friends.”

“It’s in terrible shape. And you’ll jump in — and drown.”

“Why?”

Her friend wasn’t exaggerating. The company owned no computers. Shipping labels were created on a Smith-Corona electric typewriter. The accounting department was still using file cards.

But Landreth Seed was a sacred name in American gardening. Founded in 1784, it’s America’s oldest seedhouse. It introduced Americans to the zinnia (1798), the white-fleshed potato (1811) and the tomato (1820). It is revered for its vast range of heirloom seeds. With a new generation of gardeners sprouting up across America, Landreth was positioned to become the gold standard for high quality seeds.

So Melera and her husband Peter, a professor at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, bought Landreth. The years of 7-day, 80-hour weeks began. Business started improving. But the seed company needed seed capital — and no VC or investor would step up.

In 2005, Melera told her story to Liz King, a wealthy Californian who had learned about Landreth from Melera’s cousin. King was captivated. She loaned the company $75,000. And did it again. And again, until Landreth owed her $250,000, plus interest, due in five years.

The biggest issue: Liz King wanted her money. As Melera tells it, she asked King if she’d be willing to convert the loan to equity — or give Landreth more time to repay it. King declined and turned the matter over to her lawyer.

Those turned out to be plague years. Landreth was battered by a busted economy, equipment failures, website glitches and a perpetual lack of capital. “You name it, there’s been an issue,” Melera says.

From here, it gets murky. Melera was too broke to hire a lawyer, so she handled King’s 2010 demand for repayment herself. Or didn’t handle it — struggling to make payroll, she never approached King’s lawyer with a repayment plan. She says she didn’t receive notice of a court date or the judgment that she had defaulted. And so, she says, she was stunned to learn on August 31 that she had only 30 days to pay the loan plus interest — or lose the business.

It’s not as if Melera has spent the past year cultivating her home garden. She’s actively pursued potential investors or lenders. She’s written letters to foundations. She’s courted the wealthy, cashed-out entrepreneurs, agriculture conglomerates and investment bankers. She raised not a dollar.

Barbara Melera is now reduced to an urgent request for help: “We need to sell 1 million catalogs to get rid of all of our debt, please help the oldest seed company in America!” That appeal has radiated from Landreth’s Facebook page to gardeners across the country; in a matter of days, 2,000 people have paid $5 for Landreth’s new catalog, a thing of beauty printed in America on quality paper. At this rate, selling a million catalogs in less than a month seems impossibly ambitious.

In fact, Landreth only needs to book a million catalog orders if it’s intent on paying off, as Melera writes, “all of our debt.” But her most urgent priority is Liz King’s $250,000, plus interest. And to pay that off, Landreth needs to sell “only” 250,000 catalogs by the end of the month — or sell fewer catalogs but have massive seed orders roll in.

Hearing Melera’s story, you understand her wish for another year or two to settle Landreth’s debts. The company was profitable last year on sales of $500,000; it will be more profitable this year on sales of $600,000. And as more Americans decide they don’t want to grow vegetables from genetically modified seeds, sales of Landreth’s authentic heirloom products could grow dramatically.

Reality check: Time, for Landreth, ends on October 1.

If I were Barbara Melera, I’d be sweating blood. To my surprise, she’s both worried and guardedly optimistic. But then, she’s been digging in the soil for 55 of her 61 years. She’s got a very green thumb — her gardens grow. And so, she believes, will this one.

“It is out there in significant levels. It is out there consistently,” said Paul Capel, environmental chemist and head of the agricultural chemicals team at the U.S. Geological Survey Office, part of the U.S. Department of Interior.

Considered by some to be a sexy subversive social movement, guerrilla gardening is an interesting evolution of activism among artists, horticulturalists, social reformers, and foodies who choose to react against harsh concrete jungles by helping blighted lands return to a semblance of Eden.

via Subaru Drive : Subaru Drive.

John Diodati isn’t optimistic about the beer growing in his front lawn.

What was once a small parcel of land filled with crab grass now hosts a small crop of barley, hop rhizome and sugar beets. Yet, while the crops are growing, they might not be growing fast enough for September’s block party.

That party will feature eight Morro Bay families celebrating their unique farming project by eating and drinking the things they’ve been growing since April. The families — who collectively call themselves The Beach Tractors — are competing with nine other Western neighborhoods in Sunset Magazine’s One Block Feast Contest.

Diodati first learned of the contest after meeting two Sunset editors at last year’s Savor the Central Coast wine and food event. After talking to the editors about his band of friendly neighbors, they suggested he apply for the contest, which challenges neighborhoods to grow gardens and raise farm animals while working as a team.

*Rain Barrels
*Compost Bins
*Solar Dehyrdrator
*No-Till Gardening
Bat Houses
*Worm Bins
*Homemade Greenhouses
**Solar Oven
*Outdoor Shower
*Compost Toilet
*Green Low-Cost Cleaning Products

WHEN? Saturday, July 16, 9:30 – 11:30 am for ages 5 and up
12:30-4:30 pm for ages 15 & up. Optional Potluck Dinner to Follow

WHERE? Gaia Grove Educational Riverfront Eco-Camp & Ecovillage Community

21255 SW CR 237, Brooker, FL 32622

Suggested Donation: $10-$15. bring your own folding chair & bathing suit.

Please RSVP to Joanna at 352-562-3508 or Bob at 352-262-5068
Or email: GaiaGroveFL@yaoo.com. Website: GaiaGrove.webs.com