Honey Bees and Ice Cream - We Need BOTH

Environmentalists involved in the fight to save Earth’s biodiversity have an unexpected ally this year; Haagen-Dazs, which means “sticks to the thighs” in Dutch or something, is joining the fight to save the American Honey Bee from extinction.

The makers of Haagen-Dazs ice cream, who rely on honey bees to pollinate natural ingredients like almonds, raspberries, cherries, and pears, have launched a campaign complete with flashy website and sizable donations to university entomology programs to raise awareness and help find a cause and cure for the alarming rate of honey bee extinction in the U.S. A large portion of the nation’s food crop relies on honey bees for pollination, but hives across the country have seen a massive drop in honey bee population over the last few years for reasons no one can seem to explain. Possible threats such as commercial pesticides, viruses, and lack of habitat may all be contributing factors.

The good news is that, for once, you can help! One of the major motives of the campaign is to encourage consumers to plant honey bee-friendly gardens including plants like lavender, glory bushes, jasmine, rosemary, violets, thyme, wisteria, bluebells, trumpet vines, cosmos, sunflowers, cone flowers, and coreopsis, whatever that is. So plant a few pots or a whole garden. The plants smell great, the bees will love you for it, and you can have a nice bowl of ice cream in your own personal bee-friendly habitat. Ain’t summer great?

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