We can thank the bees for many of the foods on our Thanksgiving tables this Thursday, from apple and pumpkin pie to cranberry relish. Bees and other pollinators provide us with one of every three bites of food we eat, often the most delicious and nutritious. In fact, the world's 20.000 native bee species pollinate more than 80% of its flowering plants and countless ecosystems depend on them.

But bees and other critical pollinators currently face great danger. New York beekeepers reported losing more than half their hives in the 2019-2020 growing year, the second-highest annual loss on record. And many of our state's more than 400 native bee species are also in free fall, like the American bumblebee, which has lost 99% of its population here. That's why one of the best ways to thank the bees this holiday may be to ask your state representatives to curb the reckless use of neonicotinoids, or "neonics," the neurotoxic pesticides that have endangered bee populations. bees. A bill coming up for consideration in Albany just after New Year's Day, the Bee and Bird Protection Act, would do just that.

The stakes are not a joke. While beekeepers frantically breed and replace honey bee colonies in an attempt to keep total numbers flat, wild bees and other pollinators vital to food production and ecosystem health do not enjoy that help. The sting can already be felt. Favorite Thanksgiving cake fillings, such as apples, blueberries, and cherries, depend on pollination by bees, but are "pollinator-limited" across the country, meaning that agricultural yields are lower due to the lack of bees, butterflies and other pollinators.

Lower yields translate into higher prices for key healthy foods at a time when working families are already grappling with rising food costs. Future trends look worse. With the disappearance of wild bees and honey bees increasingly stressed and susceptible to parasites and disease, pollination and affordable healthy foods will become more limited.

I founded the Bee Conservancy in response to this bee crisis. As a child, I grew up in a low-income neighborhood in Yonkers, outside of New York City, with little or no immediate access to healthy food. As part of our work in the US, we partner with communities like this facing food shortages and other environmental challenges in New York City and State to strengthen bee habitat in three key ways: by distributing homes from locally produced and sustainably sourced native bees designed to maximize bee health; the establishment of bee sanctuaries with hives of honey bees, homes for native bees and strategic plantations; and the launch of programs that involve, educate and empower people to produce healthy food and build green spaces.

Neon pollution threatens that job. When neon use skyrocketed fifteen years ago, bee populations plummeted, leading to our current predicament. Highly toxic to bees and other insects and designed to permeate plants (including their pollen, nectar, fruits, etc.), neonics also penetrate ecosystems. Their popularity, persistence, and tendency to move with rainwater have made neonics widespread pollutants of soil, water, and plant life throughout the state. That pollution also raises concerns for birds, fish, deer, and our health as well.

Simply put, we will never be able to lift bees off the brink if we continue to live in a world that is toxic to them at all times.

Fortunately, science can guide that way back. A recent report from Cornell University shows that the vast majority of neon use in New York does not provide economic benefits to users or can be replaced by safer alternatives. The Bird and Bee Protection Act prohibits only those uses, that is, neon coatings on corn, soy, and wheat seeds, as well as ornamental and grass uses, while preserving others, such as invasive species treatments. While not as extensive as the European ban on neonics, the result would be a much-needed break for all pollinators, without great costs or the need to switch to more harmful pesticides.

Sometimes giving thanks requires nothing more than saying "thank you." Other times, it demands action. When you finish your pumpkin pie this holiday (which, yes, the bees bring), remember to contact your state representatives to tell them to support the Bird and Bee Protection Act this coming year. Our bees, and the ecosystems and creatures (including people!) that depend on them, will thank you.