Compromise. Da Vinci watercolors on Arches 140 lb. cold press watercolor paper.
Reference photo from Michael Yates at PaintMyPhoto.
An Argument for Wildlife-friendly Farming Strategies (Part 1)
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Introduction
Although some crops do not require the help of pollinators, industrial farmers should adopt wildlife-friendly strategies to help counter the “Bee Crisis.”
The current model of industrial farming is not sustainable. The booming human population requires more and more food, and in order to meet the demands, industrial farming has become the go-to solution. Industrial farming strategies focus on growing monocultures—massive fields of only one type of crop—and the aggressive use of pesticides and herbicides.
Both of those strategies are contributing factors to the “Bee Crisis” and therefore linked to the weakening honeybee population.
An Argument for Wildlife-friendly Farming Strategies (Part 2)
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
What Are Wildlife-friendly Farming Strategies?
Wildlife-friendly farming strategies involve the creation of habitats for pollinators and crop pest predators that can create a symbiotic relationship between the wildlife and the farmers. Research on the subject has been performed for a period of six years by Richard Pywell et al., who compiled the findings in an article called “Wildlife-Friendly Farming Increases Crop Yield: Evidence for Ecological Intensification.”
An Argument for Wildlife-friendly Farming Strategies (Part 3)
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Don’t Adopt Wildlife-friendly Farming Strategies
The important thing to know about this option is that sooner or later, it will not be sustainable. It will not be just “business as usual” because without bees to pollinate crops, harvests will decline and we will not be able to feed everyone on the planet.
This scenario has several pros and cons to it.
The Bee Crisis 