Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of the Honey Bee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis

HERE'S AN INTERVIEW OF ROWAN JACOBSEN WHO WROTE THE BOOK, Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of the Honey Bee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis. THIS IS SCARY STUFF. HE DISCUSSES WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO HUMAN CIVILIZATION IF BEES COMPLETELY DIED OFF. HERE'S AN EXCERPT:

What would happen to us if honeybees were to completely die off?
More than 100 crops, about a third of the calories we eat, require cross-pollination by honeybees. The grain staples such as corn, rice, and oats are wind-pollinated, but most of the stuff that adds color to our plates and vitamins and antioxidants to our diets—apples, pears, blueberries, cherries, raspberries, plums, melons, cucumbers, zucchini, almonds, macadamia nuts, and so on—would disappear. Plants like lettuce, carrots, broccoli, and onions, which don’t make edible fruits but need to make seeds for next year’s supply, also rely on bees. Bees also cross-pollinate the forage crops, like alfalfa and clover, that are vital to many dairying and beef cattle operations. And don’t forget honey, of course.