Day 27- I am thankful for bees. Without them, many of our plants that require insect pollination would die, and animals dependent on eating those plants would die. For instance-cattle who eat insect pollinated alfalfa. So there goes beef and milk. This would drastically affect many of our food sources. And then theres cotton, which also requires insect pollination. It would cease to exist...so that would affect our clothing. And what about our medicine? Many medicines are plant-based, so if bees become extinct we would lose our source of some pharmaceuticals. Morphine -- the basis of most pain-killers -- is extracted from opium poppies. Opium poppies can self-pollinate, but studies have shown theres a better yield from cross-pollinated cultivars. Many other plants used in pharmaceuticals also require pollination by insects. Bees deserve a lot of credit for helping humans survive.
Posted on: Thu, 28 Nov 2013 02:01:06 +0000
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