Imagine a World without Chocolate & Strawberries... Save the Honey Bee!

Surprise! The honey bee pollinates strawberries and cocoa.

Can you imagine a world without chocolate and strawberries?  Did you know that our crops depend on the beekeepers and small honey bee in a big way? Millions of acres of U.S. fruit, vegetable, oilseed, and legume crops depend on insect pollination--and that includes the sacred honey bees. This little insect gives human gifts from the hive but also helps pollinate our crops, home gardens, and wildlife habitat.
It's been estimated by the USDA that 80 percent of insect crop pollination is done by hardworking honey bees. If you do the math, that means one-third of the total human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants, including fruit, legumes, and vegetables--all the good, healthful stuff that you and I love--like chocolate covered strawberries  created and available by Enjou Chocolat.
But despite the need for the honey bee--who works a double shift with making honey and pollinating crops--there is a megaglitch that is becoming a growing problem: The honey bee population is declining.
While you enjoy chocolate and strawberries, consider donating funds to researchers around the country who are trying to determine the causes of Colony Collapse Disorder and what can be done to bolster the bee population. (More information in chapter 16 "And the Bees' Buzz Goes On...")"in the new book The Healing Powers of Honey by Cal Orey, published by Kensington Publishing Corp.)
One more thing... Cooking and baking with chocolate and fruit--and sweet honey--is healthful and scrumptious. I can't envision a world without these good-for-you foods. Can you? Meanwhile, there are dozens of recipes in The Healing Powers of Chocolate and The Healing Powers of Honey to show you how sweet it is now while the honey bees are buzzing in the U.S. and around the globe.
(Photo courtesy of Enjou Chocolat.)