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Alys Cochran

Dr. Cindy Spady

PHIL 102

12 December 2022

Saving the Bees is an Ethical Issue

From the very early times of written history there is evidence that bees and in

particular honey bees were important. Honey was one of the first sweeteners used by

man. Its uses went beyond just a tasty addition to foods as it was even offered to

Egyptians gods as a sacrifice and to prepare the dead for burial. Although the honey

bee produced a tangible product in honey, meanwhile even other bees along with the

honey bee were pollinating early crops through history without any awareness of their

importance in helping to sustain life through the impact of pollination. With a focus on

environmental ethics, modern history is becoming very aware of the importance of the

role of bees in nature and consequently in the sustenance of human life.

The United States as an agricultural producer in order to keep crops fresh and

able to ship further distances began the use of herbicides and pesticides to keep crops

free of insects. With the development of these over the decades more and more species

of insects were decimated. In particular, native bees, which have been the primary

pollinators of most U.S. crops. Because of this decline the US in modern times have

brought in European honeybees for pollination. Since the US is one of the few countries

that exploit honey bees for pollination in such a great way rather than for use as honey

production the European honeybee was needed.

According to the Bee Conservancy the modern world is home to 21,000 species

of bees with continual new species being identified. Bees are essential for pollination
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and to produce healthy ecosystems. “In 2017 the rusty patched bumble bee was the

first bee added to the endangered species list in the continental U.S. A 2019 survey

from the Bee informed partnership states that nearly 40% of U.S. beekeepers lost their

colonies during the previous years. Compared to 1947 the U.S. honeybee population

has declined by 60%” (Why Bees).

Although all bees serve an important ecological purpose, honey bees are the

single most important species of pollinators in natural ecosystems across the globe

(Hung et al.). Most of the seeds, various fruits, vegetables and even individual crops like

coffee beans are reliant on bee pollination for crop production. Without effective

methods and proper recognition of the importance bees place in the ecological system

civilization future generations become at risk for survival.

There are a few different views of environmental ethics that help to understand the

various human views towards bees in the ecosystem. Addressing a couple of these

helps to understand why the issue of bee conservation becomes complicated.

In the Anthropocentric view bees are seen as just a player in the important life-

support system for humans. This view would advocate for all means to save bees only

because of their value for future generations and therefore meeting the needs of

humans but it negates any value associated with the world of nature. This view does not

encompass the importance of nature in general and the view of the interconnected

natural world.

Another view to consider is the Ecocentric view that would support the value of

the natural world and its importance to our interdependence on it. This idea centers on

the interconnectedness of all living things. It also supports the idea of the responsibility
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of humans for the natural world. It takes away the idea of human centered ideology to

reflect more on nature centered. To see this concept in its most extreme would be

examples from Jainism, an East Indian religion where it is believed that plants, animals

and even some non-living things have souls as humans do, therefore they go to

extremes to limit any harm to them, even covering their mouth so no living thing would

inadvertently fly into their mouth and make them responsible for the insects end. This

viewpoint most reflects my ideas about the environment and successfully keeping bees

from harm.

Besides these ethical views environmentalists may also not adequately address

the idea of why humans are in disharmony with nature rather than always asking how to

have more harmonious relationships with nature (Roach). Because of this viewpoint

more individuals seem to see “saving the bees” as a banner to be carried with honor

without any sustenance behind it and in turn makes them feel part of helping to save the

earth. Rather than seeing the intrinsic value of bees' contribution to the environment the

concept of environmental politics is also involved. The bees' value is seen as pollinators

needed for crop production for the marketplace and producing money rather than

seeing the need to help them survive and provide for future generations. Bees are

important in feeding about one third of the world's population however their true

importance is seen by most only in their ability to produce a product for economic gain

rather than helping to find ways to further their existence. These groups are not able to

see the full value of the bees' connectedness to being important to the cycle of nature

and its impact on humanity.

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Pesticides are one of the aspects that are seen to reduce bee populations

worldwide. The use of pesticides in the United States are being recognized as

negatively impacting humans and their health as well as bee colonies. In a Norwegian

study the use of pesticides was studied citing pesticides as the main cause of bee

population decline. It further went on to discuss who was more responsible in protecting

bees, farmers, consumers, or public authorities. Farmers considered themselves the

most responsible. The study also noted that a low level in consumer trust in farmers and

public authorities lent itself to consumers losing trust in chemical methods of farming

and resorting to buying organic. This suggests that consumers who lack trust in

methods that may jeopardize nature take on more personal responsibility to avoid use

of products where pesticides have been used (Hung et al.).

In 1962 Rachel Carson in her book, Silent Spring is seen as founding the roots of

the environmental movement. Carson put forward the negative effects of chemicals

used not only in gardens, fields and even our homes and questioned the value of their

use. She wrote, “Nature has introduced great variety into the landscape but man has

displayed a passion for simplifying it. Thus he undoes the built-in checks and balances

by which nature holds the species within bounds” (Carson). The use of these chemicals

have caused rapid declines in bee colonies and in turn caused various pollination

issues. Herbicides have caused a decline in native plants that the bees use as food

sources. As more and more food sources are eradicated the bees have less and less

natural sources to feed on.

Environmental ethics helps to address the moral implications these practices

have on nature. It also provides types of argumentation that can be made to support the
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protection of natural resources and the natural beings that make up this world. In

today's world environmental ethics is important as we become more aware of the

negative impact of humanity on the planet. Further, the Ecocentric viewpoint embedded

in environmental ethics also seems to support the interconnectedness of nature and

based on the relationship between humans and nature. The traditional ethical dilemma

is that it is based on traditionally moral values but we have shaped nature to be used as

we want to use it and thus poses moral questions.

History has shown the importance of bees and their contributions to history. From

the very beginnings of time there are indicators of bees' importance in the history of

civilization. Ethics supports a moral viewpoint towards topics and in particular virtue

ethics and the issue of bee survival does contribute to this moral viewpoint. The survival

of bee colonies and in particular bees are paramount to the further existence of

humanity if the chain of life is truly understood and the link that bees play in it.

Ecocentric ethics is reflective on the intertwining of nature and man and this idea

is shown in this quote by Trudy Styler an English actress and who co founded the

Rainforest Foundation Fund in 1989 said it best by stating, “I have a huge belief in the

importance of bees, not just for their honey, which is a healing and delicious food, but

the necessity of bee colonies that are vital to the health of the planet.” Our support and

involvement in helping to sustain native bee colonies in America will in time contribute to

a better planet for future generations. Although we have progressed since ancient times

it might be wise to reflect on the importance, reverence and practical use our ancient

ancestors place on bees and recognize their foresight in recognizing how important

bees are in sustaining our planet.

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Works Cited

Botzler, Richard G. “Environmental ethics and Earth's resources.” Salem Press

Encyclopedia of Science, 2020. EBSCOhost, search-ebscohost-

com.allstate.libproxy.ivytech.edu/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=ers&AN=89474658&site=eds-live. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.

Carson, Rachel, 1907-1964. Silent Spring. Boston :Houghton Mifflin, 2002.

Hung, Keng-Lou James, et al. “The Worldwide Importance of Honey Bees as Pollinators

in Natural Habitats.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,

vol. 285, no. 1870, Jan. 2018, p. 20172140, doi:10.1098/rspb.2017.2140.

Accessed 11 Dec 2022

Milford, Anna Birgitte, et al. “The Responsibility of Farmers, Public Authorities and

Consumers for Safeguarding Bees Against Harmful Pesticides.” Journal of

Agricultural & Environmental Ethics, vol. 35, no. 3, Sept. 2022, pp. 1–22.

EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s10806-022-09889-0. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.

Roach, Catherine M.. Mother / Nature : Popular Culture and Environmental Ethics,

Indiana University Press, 2003. ProQuest Ebook Central,

ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ivytech/detail.action?docID=151940.

“Why Bees?” The Bee Conservancy, thebeeconservancy.org/why-bees/.