Decreasing Numbers of Pollinators Puts Nutritious Food in Peril

Pollinators such as bees and butterflies play an important role in producing most of our foods including fruits, vegetables and nuts. Some produce farms even use these insects to grow their plants.

However, some pollinators are threatened to get extinct, especially the wild ones like the bumblebee. There is a phenomenon in Europe that killed about a third of bees and butterflies and left 9 percent endangered, as reported by NPR.

If the pollinators are gone extinct, the human food production will decline along with them. The United Nations has sponsored 80 scientists around the world to conduct a massive scientific report. According to the summary, the decreasing numbers of pollinators may trigger food shortages, "impacting health and nutritional security."

Although the world's biggest crops like corn, wheat, rice and soybean do not rely on pollinators, a lot of other crops like berries, vegetables, nuts and fruits benefit most from pollinators.

An article from FAO says that there are 20,000 species of wild bees plus many species of flies, butterflies, moths, wasps, beetles, birds, bats and other animals that help pollination. These pollinated crops are important sources of vitamins and minerals. If these crops declined, malnutrition is at risk.

Another threat is, with less pollinator, crops relying on pollination will produce less, making these valuable foods more expensive. Some of these crops also play an important role as sources of income to farmers in developing countries, like farms that produce cocoa and coffee.

"Without pollinators, many of us would no longer be able to enjoy coffee, chocolate and apples, among many other foods that are part of our daily lives," said Simon Potts, Ph.D., assessment co-chair and Professor of School of Agriculture, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Policy and Development, University of Reading, United Kingdom.

Pollination by insects and other animals helps more than 75 percent of world's food crops.