See the entire article at:

http://www.panna.org/panna/resources/panups.html

Sharon


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P A N U P S
Pesticide Action Network Updates Service
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Pollinator Declines Could Increase Food Prices
July 13, 2001

A global shortage of bees and other insects that pollinate plants is
destroying crops around the world and could lead to far higher prices
for fruits and vegetables, according to researchers at the University of
Guelph, Canada. "The consumers are ultimately going to pay," said Dr.
Peter Kevan, an environmental biology professor at the university.
"Instead of buying an apple for 30¢, you'll end up paying $1.50 for it."
Pollinator populations have been hit hard by increased pesticide use in
recent years, and much of their natural habitat, such as dead trees and
old fence posts, have been destroyed to make room for more farmland, Dr.
Kevan added.

In their report, published recently in the online journal Conservation
Ecology, Dr. Kevan and Dr. Truman Phillips say that pollination systems
in many agricultural areas today are threatened by an inadequate number
or complete lack of sustainably-managed pollinators, either indigenous
or imported.