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deficit in genetically modified fields. Likewise, bees were most abundant in organic fields and least so in genetically modified fields.

There are reports that bee populations are declining at rates of up to 80% in areas of the United States and Europe. According to experts, if bees were to become extinct then humanity would perish after just four years. Albert Einstein said "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man,"

Scientists are puzzled as to what is causing the declining at rates, ruling out parasites but leaning towards some kind of new toxin or chemical used in agriculture as being responsible. Some experts think that the large-scale growth of genetically modified crops in the United States could the missing link. A study at the University of Jena from 2001 to 2004 showed that toxins from a genetically modified maize variant designed with an insect repellant, when combined with a parasite, weakened the bees ability to survive the parasite and resulted in a "significantly stronger decline in the number of bees" than was normal. Colony Collapse Disease was recognized in 2006, but beekeepers reported hive declines similar to CCD as early as 2004. An estimated 23 percent of all beekeeping operations in the U.S. suffered from CCD during the winter of 2006-2007. Recently a published letter to Senator Thomas Harkin on the web from The Sierra Club Genetic Engineering Committee said that "highly respected scientists believe that exposure to genetically engineered crops and their plant-produced pesticides merit serious consideration as either the cause or a contributory factor to the development and spread of CCD." Nine literature references which could support their theory were cited.

According to ProQuest, soybeans and corn are the top two most widely grown crops (82% of all GM crops harvested in 2000), with cotton, rapeseed (or canola) and potatoes trailing behind. 74% of these genetically modified crops were modified for herbicide tolerance, 19% were modified for insect pest resistance, and 7% were modified for both herbicide tolerance and pest tolerance. Globally, acreage of genetically modified crops has increased 25-fold in just 5 years, from approximately 4.3 million acres in 1996 to 109 million acres in 2000 - almost twice the area of the United Kingdom. Approximately 99 million acres were devoted to GM crops in the U.S. and Argentina alone.

There has not been a formal link to the decline in bees and genetically modified food possibly because there is a lot of money at stake, but it certainly is not something that should be passed over lightly, for richer, or poorer and every food ingesting being in between.

Learn more about this author, Ginger Sanders.
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