Does Almond Milk Kill Bees? The Debate You Need to Know About

Bees are one of the five animals vital to our planet’s existence.

Bees act as pollinators for flowers and plants. These flowers and plants sustain other insect life, which in turn sustains the lives of birds, bats, mammals, and everything higher up the food chain—including humans.

Experts agree that bees are absolutely vital to a stable food supply. Without them, the life cycle of millions of plants would be incomplete, and these critical plant sources of food would die off.

Unfortunately, as you’ve no doubt seen in the headlines over the last decade or so, the world’s bee population is declining. A number of factors contribute to the increasing death of bees and bee colonies, and because of them, our world is at greater risk than ever.

But it turns out that one of the greatest threats to bees’ existence might be the production of one of the most popular modern foods: almond milk.

In this post, we’ll answer the question, "How does almond milk kill bees?" We’ll look at the factors contributing to a declining bee population and what might be causing the growing bee death rate.

We’ll also examine the link between almond milk production and bee lifecycle to understand how almond milk and bees’ deaths are connected. Finally, we’ll offer a few possible solutions that could protect bees—and in so doing, protect our world.

The Decline of Bee Populations: What’s Causing It? 

Severe declines in bee population may be caused by a number of factors, including:

• Drought
• Destruction of bee habitats
• Air pollution
• Pesticides
• Global warming
• Nutrition deficit

While no single factor can be blamed for all the bee deaths, combined, they are creating an environment in which bee life is a struggle. As a result, bee death rates are higher than ever.

Environmental Factors Contributing to Bee Deaths

Research conducted by the Utah State University asked the question, "What’s causing so many bee deaths?" 

Their investigation [1] found that there were a number of environmental factors as the likely culprit:

• Habitat loss
• Improper apiary management
• Increased use of pesticides
• Climate change
• Pests and pathogens
• Competition among introduced and native bee species
• Poor nutrition

While some of these things are merely an unfortunate side effect of modern bee farming methods, you can see which are directly linked to modern environmental health concerns.

Climate change, an increase in pests and pathogens, and the resulting increased pesticide use are very serious issues that modern society is struggling to find ways to combat effectively. Until we can solve these problems, bees continue to be at risk, and with them, the health of our planet.

Is Almond Milk Really Harming Bees? 

The question behind this article comes from a 2020 article published in the Guardian [2]. The article was titled "’Like sending bees to war’: the deadly truth behind your almond milk obsession".

According to the article, commercial beekeepers rely heavily on the pollination of almond groves to keep their bee farms alive.

Almond trees do not self-pollinate. They require outside help—from bees and birds and other insects—to pollinate flowers and begin the process of growing nuts.

Honey bees are the most convenient method to promote pollination of almond crops. Honey bees tend to move about a lot during bloom season, foraging for pollen and nectar.

As long as they are flying around blooming almond trees, they facilitate the pollination process.

The Link Between Commercial Almond Farming and Bee Rentals 

Honey is a far less lucrative product than almonds (thanks to the popularity of almond milk), so apiarists rent out their bee colonies to almond growers as a means of earning additional income.

Right now, roughly 80% of the world’s almond supply comes from one place in California’s Central Valley. The presence of so many almond farms means that bees are in high demand in order to pollinate almonds.

Unfortunately, a lot of beekeepers are reporting that their beehives are dying off at an alarming rate—in the Guardian article, one beekeeper reported 150 of their hives, 12% of their total, had died off after renting them out to almond farms.

During the winter months of 2018 to 2019, an estimated 50 billion bees died off or were wiped out. That’s roughly 40% of the total U.S. bee population—a truly alarming number.

But what caused the die-off? Why is almond milk bad for bees, or what aspects of the production of almond milk is killing bees in such a short amount of time?

Almond Milk Effect on Bees: Key Reasons Behind Bee Deaths 

Why do bees die and do you contribute to that as you drink almond milk? Let’s break that down.

Diseases, Parasites, and Habitat Loss 

Mites—particularly Varroa destructor mites—are a threat to bees, and if they’re allowed to flourish in almond tree farms, they can wipe out entire hives.

Global warming and environmental pollution can also make previously livable regions of the country uninhabitable by bees, which are not as hardy as other insects.

Pesticide Use and Industrial Farming Methods 

Pesticide exposure is considered one of the gravest threats bees face.

One Forbes article [3] written in response to the Guardian piece mentioned above actually claims that this is the greatest threat, due to the fact that manufacturers are always looking to make cheaper pesticides, which means they are often stronger and more dangerous.

Bees are delicate insects, and they suffer when exposed to harsh chemicals. The use of pesticides in the almond farms could be one major cause behind the bee die-off.

Industrial agriculture methods are the prime threat emphasized by the Guardian article. Essentially, the almond farming industry has become highly industrialized in order to produce a cheap enough product to meet high demand.

Unfortunately, almond farming (especially under an organic beekeeper) is a fairly delicate process, particularly the parts where bees are involved. Industrial methods are anything but delicate, which means they can cause damage—if not to the almond trees, then to the bees brought in to pollinate them.

Monoculture Farming and Its Effects on Bee Health

Bees require a very varied ecosystem, a landscape with a great deal of biodiversity in order to flourish. However, bringing them into these almond farms puts them in what’s called a "monoculture", a landscape with minimal biodiversity.

They are then expected to flourish in this monoculture year after year and be productive, pollinating the almond trees on the commercial farms. Doing this can seriously harm the bees, leading to higher bee deaths than all the other fish and livestock in the U.S. combined.

How Almond Pollination Disrupts the Natural Bee Cycle 

Pollinating almond orchards forces the bees to awake from their winter dormancy one to two months early (during almond growing season), interfering with their usual life cycle.

Then they are exposed to a wide range of diseases that are present in the single region where they are pollinating, leading to higher bee deaths as a result of sickness.

Potential Solutions to Protect Bees While Supporting Almond Farms 

Some people are trying to find a way to protect the bees while keeping the California almond industry alive. While some of these methods are simply a stopgap, an effort to slow bee population decline, some have shown promise at being a long-term solution.

Biodiversity Initiatives

The not-for-profit Xerces Society has pushed to introduce biodiversity into the Central Valley almond farms in order to not only provide bees with the diverse landscape they need to flourish.

Greater biodiversity provides bees with a wider range of food sources, which promotes a stabler, more nutritious diet. It also provides them with a greater range of shelter and habitats, encouraging their growth and spread.

More than that, ecological biodiversity also helps to control the insects and birds that are a threat to bees. It provides them with a safe haven in which they can flourish—which in turn helps their environment to flourish as a result.

Reduced Pesticide Use 

Some farmers are avoiding the use of pesticides—which leads to a smaller crop, but reduces bee deaths and actually provides the bees an environment where they can flourish.

Toxic pesticides are not only a threat to pests and destructive insects, but to sensitive insects like bees. They can be absorbed into the plants and be present in the nectar and pollen the bees need to survive. This can either alter bee behavior or kill them outright.

According to one study from the Center for Food Safety [4], a single pesticide-treated corn seed is toxic enough to kill off 80,000 honey bees. Read that again: 80,000!

It’s safe to say that reducing the use of toxic industrial pesticides is one of the best things we can do to protect our bee population.

What Consumers Can Do to Help 

Reducing your purchase of commercially produced honey and "honey products" is a great place to start.

The best thing the average consumer can do is buy organic, locally-sourced honey and products marked with the "Bee Better" seal. Moreover, organic products are much more likely to deliver the expected benefits of honey without harming your health.

Reducing almond milk sales may help to decrease the need for industrialized almond farming. Or, buying bee-friendly almond milk brands that are made with bee safety and health in mind will encourage the growth and recovery of the damaged beehives.

Supporting Bee-Friendly Farming Practices 

We all have a say in our local politics, and we have the ability to encourage and vote for measures that support bee-friendly farming practices.

This includes any farming practice that does the following:

• Promotes a varied and natural habitat for bees to live;
• Creates or maintain natural features (like wildflowers or uncultivated areas) that provide natural biodiversity for the bees;
• Encourages the planting of flowering trees, plants, and shrubs;
• Provides or protects more easily available water sources for local bee population;
• Promotes planting "cover crops" to feed bees before, during, and after the main bloom of crops;
• Reduces the use of toxic pesticides, particularly in areas where there is a high bee population;
• Supports organic farming methods.

Educate yourself on the importance of bees and learn about bee biology, and let that information guide how you vote on local matters that could affect bee population in your neighborhood, city, and state.

Wrapping Up

Almond milk isn’t killing bees, but commercial almond production in response to the heightened demand for almond milk is.

It’s important to understand the dangers that modern almond milk production methods pose to bee colonies so you can evaluate whether this vegan milk is a product worth drinking, or if the risk it poses is too great to be ignored.

Hopefully, this post has given you a lot to think about, and shown you just how important bees are to our planet. Working together, we can all do our part to protect and preserve bees’ natural habitats—and in so doing, protect and preserve our world!

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Frequently Asked Questions

What naturally kills Varroa mites?

Varroa mites, the greatest pest threat to bees, can be killed using oxalic acid (found in rhubarb plants), formic acid (naturally found in honey), thymol (derived from thyme oil), and both wintergreen and tea tree oil. Hop beta acids (from the hops used to brew beer) can also naturally kill off Varroa mites without causing harm to the bees.

How many gallons of water does it take to make almond milk?

It’s estimated to take around 23 gallons of water to produce a single gallon of almond milk. However, almond trees consume more water than other plants—up to 371 liters is consumed per liter of almond milk produced.

Which plant-based milk is the worst for the environment?

According to Our World in Data [5], oat milk uses more land, rice milk generates more greenhouse gas emissions and leads to greater eutrophication, and almond milk consumes more freshwater.

Resources

Save the Bees

‘Like sending bees to war’: the deadly truth behind your almond milk obsession

Almond Trees Aren’t Killing Bees; Pesticides And Corporate Greed Are

Bee Better Certified®