Posted on August 12, 2015 by Meta science news.
Declines in honeybees, native bees and other animal pollinators could translate into a global health crisis that isn’t just one of reduced food supply. Research published in the Lancet shows that disastrous declines in pollinating animals could cause dramatic increases in both non-communicable diseases and nutrition deficiencies for people worldwide. Lower-income regions are most at risk.
Declines in native and “managed” pollinators such as the honeybee have been reported worldwide. Researchers from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy looked at worst-case scenarios of pollinator declines and found that resulting “dietary changes could increase global deaths yearly from non-communicable and malnutrition-related diseases by 1.42 million.”
In the study, the authors looked at the effect of reduced consumption of specific food groups—fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds—all of which are linked to human health and are also dependent on animal pollination. Insufficient intakes of these key foods “are each risk factors for non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, oesophageal cancer, and lung cancer,” say the study authors.
They modeled outcomes for 100%, 75% and 50% declines in animal pollinators and did not adjust for potential human adaptations to these changes. Further, they assumed that staple crops—cereals, roots and tubers—would help make up for lost calories. Ultimately they were able to analyze data for 224 key foods in 156 countries.
Vitamin A declines put additional 71 million at risk
Vitamin A plays a vital role in vision, bone growth, cell functions, reproduction and immunity. Bees and other animal pollinators are directly responsible for up to 40% of the world’s supply. The World Health Organization lists vitamin A deficiency as the leading cause of preventable blindness in children and as a current public health problem in more than half of all countries, especially in Africa and South-East Asia. The authors “estimated that complete loss of animal pollinators globally would place an additional 71 million people at risk for vitamin A deficiency”.
Folate deficiency puts additional 173 million at risk
Another key nutrient under consideration is folate. Folate is the natural form of the B vitamin and is essential for good health and the prevention of birth defects. “1.23 billion people are already consuming below their required amount, mainly in south Asia, and could experience more severe deficiency,” said the authors. With dramatic loss of animal pollinators, an estimated additional 173 million people would be at risk for folate deficiency.
Low-income regions most vulnerable
Not surprising, lower-income regions will be at greatest risk. “The result will be that wealthy populations will be relatively insulated from food losses while poor communities will probably have disproportionately impoverished diets,” they say. A dramatic loss of pollinators would “likely mirror inequalities already seen in food distribution among socioeconomic and demographic groups,” caution the authors.
KimberlyHatfield