Terry Oxford
The Playbook for Poisoning the Earth
Many seeds in the U.S. come precoated with neonicotinoids, one of the most common insecticides in the world. The chemicals are at the heart of what many are calling the “insect apocalypse.” They make the landscape toxic to bees, butterflies, birds, and potentially even large mammals.
The Playbook for Poisoning the Earth

Mother Jones: Are Your Delicious, Healthy Almonds Killing Bees?

Mother Jones: Are Your Delicious, Healthy Almonds Killing Bees?

What do almond trees have to do with honeybees? It turns out that when you grow almond trees in vast monocrops, pollination from wild insects doesn't do the trick. Each spring, it takes 1.6 million honeybee hives to pollinate the crop—about a million of which must be trucked in from out of state. Altogether, the crop requires the presence of a jaw-dropping 60 percent of the managed honeybees in the entire country, the US Department of Agriculture reports.