Monday, December 2, 2013

Plight of the Bees Essay

Anthony Rant
Mr. Bursch
Biology, Period 5
2 December 2013

Plight of the Bees
Although the bee population has substantially decreased, most human beings do not seem to acknowledge the consequences that could occur if bees became extinct.  Because an enormous quantity of food depends on pollinators, bees are viewed as sacred organisms.  Unfortunately, various beekeepers from Europe and the United States have been suffering from “annual hive losses of 30 percent or higher” (e360.yale.edu).  In fact, the almond orchards that are within the vicinity of California “require 1.6 million domesticated bee colonies to pollinate the flowering trees and produce what has become the state’s largest overseas agricultural export” (e360.yale.edu).  Based on this particular statistic, one can clearly see how much humans depend on bees.  If the bee population became extinct, the planet would sustain a horrendous famine, and several food webs would be negatively affected from population imbalances.  Therefore, an exponential amount of humans will realize why the preservation of bees is crucial when the production of fruits and vegetables becomes profoundly diminutive because fruits and vegetables reduce one’s risk of certain health problems and manage a person’s weight.
Due to the fact that numerous people are diagnosed with health problems, such as heart disease and cancer, doctors encourage individuals to consume a sufficient amount of fruits and vegetable in order to mitigate the probability of being diagnosed with a health problem.  The adequate consumption of fruits and vegetables is one of the primary methods to prevent health problems because fruits and vegetables contain a variety of significant phytochemicals that promote a healthy lifestyle.  Furthermore, other people are motivated to incorporate fruits and vegetables into their diets when they discover that a friend or relative has been diagnosed with a serious health problem.  In detail, because those individuals have to live with the fact that their inflicted loved ones are likely to fall victim to death at considerably younger ages than their life expectancies, they decide to maintain a healthy diet consisting of fruits and vegetables in order to maximize the length and happiness of their lives.  However, if the extinction of bees became a reality, the number of people diagnosed with health problems would drastically increase beyond the pinnacle.
As obesity becomes more prevalent, the ambition that obese individuals possess makes them more determined to attain healthy weights.  Despite the fact that unhealthy foods, such as French fries, pizza, and hamburgers, are considered unhealthy, people still consume excessive amounts of them.  People devour superfluous quantities of unhealthy food because their stomachs are not satisfied with the lack of nutrients and vitamins present in the food; as a result, they need to consume more food than their recommended calorie intakes in order to saturate their stomachs.  Fortunately, the inclusion of fruits and vegetables in one’s diet is an efficient way to lose weight without slowing down one’s metabolism.  Fruits and vegetables can help a person lose weight because they are “low in calories and high in fiber” (life.familyeducation.com).  Since the amount of fruits and vegetables a person needs to consume is minuscule, a person who follows this diet will gradually lose weight while still receiving the nutrients and vitamins that the body requires.  Consequently, the energy produced from the absorption of fruits and vegetables enables people to do rigorous recreational activities with ease and energy to spare. Nonetheless, more individuals will become obese if people continue to neglect the fact that the bee population is currently susceptible to extinction.
Even though one might claim that humans will recognize the decline of bees when certain animals begin to die due to starvation, people will most likely realize that the shortage of bees is a global predicament when there is a diminution in fruits and vegetables because the decrease of fruits and vegetables is the first major consequence that will negatively affect human beings.  Additionally, the consumption of fruits and vegetables is healthier than a majority of the animals that humans typically ingest.  Therefore, a vast amount of individuals will understand why the lack of bees is detrimental when the production of fruits and vegetables dwindles.
In summation, one can clearly see how the decline of bees is a major dilemma that needs to be addressed as soon as possible because the planet will have to pay the ultimate price if bees fall victim to extinction.  In spite of the fact that there are several negative effects that will occur after the possible extinction of bees, it appears that humans need to visualize how a decent number of crops that were not pollinated can impact their lives.  As a result, the mass of the human population will be aware of the bee shortage when the generation of fruits and vegetables becomes somewhat minuscule because fruits and vegetables reduce one’s risk of certain health problems and manage a person’s weight.



Bibliography
“Declining Bee Populations Pose a Threat to Global Agriculture.”  Environment 360.  Yale   
            University, 2013.  Web.  30 November 2013.
<http://e360.yale.edu/feature/declining_bee_populations_pose_a_threat_to_global_agriculture/2645/>.
“How to Use Fruits and Vegetables to Help Manage Your Weight.”  CDC.  U.S. Department of
            Health and Human Services, n.d.  Web.  30 November 2013.
            <http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/healthy_eating/fruits_vegetables.html>.
“Phytonutrients.”  WebMD.  n.p., n.d.  Web.  30 November 2013.
            <http://www.webmd.com/diet/phytonutrients-faq>.
“Why Fruits and Vegetables are Important.”  Family Education.  n.p., n.d.  Web. 
            30 November 2013.
            <http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/fruitsvegetables/>.

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