You may have heard alot of buzz around the bees. Various campaigns emerging to ‘Save The Bees’, but why and what from?
Let’s start by saying Bee’s are vital because of their role in pollination. Pollination is crucial for food production, biodiversity, and ecosystem health and function. In addition to providing pollination for plants like food crops, bees also help support industries that rely on these, such as honey production, pharmaceuticals, and natural fibers.
The economic value of bees and the free pollination services they provide us, is estimated to be worth $577 billion worldwide per year. So it is easy to see why these campaigns have so much buzz about them.
Though bees are essential to our environment, our environment also needs to be free from toxins that may harm them.
There is a herbicide commonly used in gardens and around homes to fight weeds, called Glyphosate. Glyphosate is typically used by gardeners, farmers and councils to help maintain the areas around their homes, around crops, and patches of grassland around playgrounds, schools, and other areas of grassland that councils maintain.
Glyphosate is being phased out of council use as it has just been deemed as a potential carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). However, not all councils are onboard and there’s no telling which farmers are using them. (An important note to ensure you soak your fruit and vegetables before consumption.)
I will make a point of saying that Glyphosate is not used directly on bees, however it is used on plants, including weeds, that are a vital source of pollen and nectar to bees.
When these plants and weeds die, it reduces the availability of food for the bee population, thus affecting bees overall health and survival.
A 2020 study by Motta and Moran suggests that glyphosate could impact the microbiome of bees, weakening their immune systems and making them more susceptible to disease and pathogens.
Bee mortality rates can impact our agriculture and economic systems, which is why the use of glyphosate has raised concerns among environmentalists and researchers focused on pollinator health. And the reason behind alot of the ‘Save The Bees’ campaigns.
For more information, go to the website:
beethecure.com.au
Published February 2026