‘Bee Apocalypse Now’

Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

The rate of deaths of bees has increased in the USA and is putting the food supply at risk:

Buzzfeeds: the effects of colony collapse disorder and other bee news

July 30, 2013

In the past six years, more than 10m beehives have been wiped out from a mystery disease called colony collapse disorder. This destruction has serious implications on worldwide ecology and economy.

Of the 100 crop species responsible for providing 90% of food worldwide, 71 are dependent on bee pollination, according to UN estimates (pdf). It’s difficult to pinpoint the financial implications of this destruction, but the international body says pollination is worth between $37bn and $91bn, annually…

Pollen filled with fungicides, insecticides and other agriculture chemicals was fed to healthy bees, that were then more likely to be infected by Nosema ceranae – the parasite linked to the decimation of honey bees…

There has been huge controversy over the UK government’s stance against banning certain pesticides implicated in bee deaths across the globe. The ban was introduced earlier this year Europe-wide despite the UK government’s resistance. Environmental groups have accused the government of being too close to big agricultural companies such as Syngenta. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jul/30/buzzfeeds-bees-colony-collapse-disorder

BEE APOCALYPSE NOW…

As we’ve written before, the mysterious mass die-off of honey bees that pollinate $30 billion worth of crops in the US has so decimated America’s apis mellifera population that one bad winter could leave fields fallow…

Scientists had struggled to find the trigger for so-called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) that has wiped out an estimated 10 million beehives, worth $2 billion, over the past six years. Suspects have included pesticides, disease-bearing parasites and poor nutrition. But in a first-of-its-kind study published…in the journal PLOS ONE, scientists at the University of Maryland and the US Department of Agriculture have identified a witch’s brew of pesticides and fungicides contaminating pollen that bees collect to feed their hives…

When researchers collected pollen from hives on the east coast pollinating cranberry, watermelon and other crops and fed it to healthy bees, those bees showed a significant decline in their ability to resist infection by a parasite called Nosema ceranae. The parasite has been implicated in Colony Collapse Disorder though scientists took pains to point out that their findings do not directly link the pesticides to CCD. The pollen was contaminated on average with nine different pesticides and fungicides though scientists discovered 21 agricultural chemicals in one sample. Scientists identified eight ag chemicals associated with increased risk of infection by the parasite.

Most disturbing, bees that ate pollen contaminated with fungicides were three times as likely to be infected by the parasite. Widely used, fungicides had been thought to be harmless for bees as they’re designed to kill fungus, not insects, on crops like apples.

http://qz.com/107970/scientists-discover-whats-killing-the-bees-and-its-worse-than-you-thought/

The USA and UK are at risk of food shortages if the bee situation gets much worse. It is interesting to note that The Guardian said that some have accused the UK of protecting Syngenta, a company that is big in GMO ‘foods.’ The effects of GMOs, pesticides, and agricultural chemicals are more complicated than many realize, and this study related to bees helps demonstrate this.

A ‘bee apocalypse’ could very well be a step towards the real apocalypse and the start of the Great Tribulation of Matthew 24:21.

But, why be so concerned about bees? Basically because bees are necessary for the pollenization of many plants that humans eat. Wikipedia states:

It is estimated that one third of the human food supply depends on insect pollination, most of which is accomplished by bees, especially the domesticated European honey bee.

One third of human food possibly being dependent upon bees is a significant percentage. Losing half the bees could be devastating.

If pesticides and/or high fructose corn syrup are starting to kill honey bees, presuming this trend continues to increase, the food supply could greatly decrease. (Many are also concerned that the use of high fructose corn syrup, which is normally now from genetically-engineered corn, increases that risk for human health problems like diabetes, which keeps increasing in the world.) Overall, humans need bees much more that bees physically need humans.

Jesus warned that one of the “signs” of the end of the age would be famine:

7…And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Matthew 24:6-8)

We seem to be in the time Jesus called “the beginning of sorrows.”

Between the widespread and growing use of genetically modified (GMO) “foods,” pesticides, herbicides, and synthesized sweeteners, countries like the USA and UK are putting themselves at risk for the famines which are certain to come. Losing bees perhaps should be a sign that things are beginning to worsen.

At some time, famine will come to the USA and UK and many will die from it:

15 ‘So it shall be a reproach, a taunt, a lesson, and an astonishment to the nations that are all around you, when I execute judgments among you in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken. 16 When I send against them the terrible arrows of famine which shall be for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, I will increase the famine upon you and cut off your supply of bread. 17 So I will send against you famine and wild beasts, and they will bereave you. Pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken.’ (Ezekiel 5:15-17)

As Jesus said:

37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch! (Mark 13:36-37)

Some articles of related interest may include:

GMOs and Bible Prophecy What are GMOs? Since they were not in the food supply until 1994, how could they possibly relate to Bible prophecy? Do GMOs put the USA and others at risk? Here is a related YouTube video GMO Risks and the Bible.
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, British, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first?
Will the Anglo-Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people? Here is a link to a video titled Will the USA and other Anglo-nations be Divided and Their People Made Slaves?
Can the Great Tribulation Begin in 2013, 2014, or 2015? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What happens in the “beginning of sorrows”? What is the Day of the Lord?
Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse What is the pale horse of death and pestilence? What will it bring and when?
Prophecies of Barack Obama? Reasons why Barack Obama is apocalyptic and reasons why Barack Obama is not the Antichrist. This article includes many biblical and non-biblical prophecies, from around the world, that seem to discuss Barack Obama. Did Nostradamus predict Barack Obama dealing with the Antichrist? Might Barack Obama set the stage for the kings of the North and South as at least one Shiite prophecy suggests? Read it and decide for yourself if President Obama seems to be fulfilling various prophecies.