The Tao of bee’ing: Why bees are badass, but not without support

It is said that bee populations are dropping and trees are disappearing, largely due to human activity. One might rush to assume that humans are just naturally harmful to living things, but a bigger question is why do bees matter in the ecosystem? What might humans learn from the presence, or absence, of bees? This article explores the vital relationship between bees and trees, and a Taoist approach to restore balance in the natural world.

An ecological view

The word eco means “whole” and an ecosystem is a community of organisms in relation with their larger environment. Earth is an ecosystem and the whole thing is made up of its interactive parts. Plants feed animals and animals feed on each other. The key thing about an ecology is that everything is connected in a great big support network and the whole is more than the sum of its parts.

For example, trees provide oxygen and shade for living things. Even so generous in their nature, trees equally rely on cross-pollination from bees and butterflies to help plants reproduce and thus enabling the livelihood of the whole.

Consider Earth as one whole ecosystem that is made-up of three kingdoms: plant, animal, and human. If humans were removed from the equation, one could imagine that plants and animals would flourish. In the absence of plants, it would not take long for humanity to perish. Now as all three kingdoms are currently co-existing on Earth, plants and animals are thinning away.

According to World Wildlife Fund, the world loses 18.7 million acres of forests every year, which is equal to 27 soccer fields per minute. The main cause of deforestation is agriculture and the impact is enormous since 80% of Earth’s land animals live in forests, including bees.

While many media sources spout about dying bees, it is not necessarily true. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is the phenomenon where majority of worker bees in a colony disappear. American Council of Science and Health has reported that the bee drama is not backed by science so we need not worry.

With eco-thinking, we are not concerned with which institutions are right and which are wrong. No piece of news can hold absolute reality. Instead, we attempt to explore the interconnected nature of things. In the words of Leonardo Davinci, “Realize that everything connects to everything else.”

Bees rely on forests as a major food source. Bees and forests are intimately linked as they have evolved together over millennia. The mission of bees is to serve their queen and make honey. But in serving their natural instinct, they also replenish the biodiversity of the ecosystem where a balance of give and take is taking place. Such a relationship is one that is symbiotic, or mutually beneficial.

Bees are naturally aligned with the health of the whole and they work super hard. One honey bee visits up to 1000 flowers on one trip. In a typical bee colony with 25,000 forager bees, each makes 10 trips a day, pollinating 250 million flowers per day.

When a bee takes the nectar of a tree flower, pollen rubs off on its belly and coat. Then as it visits other flowers, the pollen spreads across the land and onto other flowers. This act of cross-pollination is needed for trees and flowers to reproduce, meanwhile bees are just showing love to their queen. Cross-pollination adds to the biodiversity of a forest which builds the overall resilience of the system.

In fact, trees are more fruitful with the presence of bees. An NGO called Bees for Development performed a study in Ghana and Benin in Africa which revealed that the production of Cashew nuts from cashew tree were 2 to 3 times higher when honey bees were housed near the trees. It is curious if there were other joint factors that led to the greater yield.

Ecological solutions

It is precisely the understanding of mutual growth that human must cultivate in order to restore the health of the ecosystem. Bees are badass but not without proper support. For example, it is found that modern farming practices are harmful to bees. The pesticides and chemicals that are used in farming affect the livelihood of bees.

Reducing chemical use is a huge effort that is adopted by organic farms. Reforestation is another potential solution. However, without proper appreciation for the complexity of the eco-system, reforestation will not meet its full potential. For example, in 1999 China launched the Grain-for-Green program to mitigate flooding and soil erosion. Reaping positive results, the program went on for 16 years, cost $100,000 billion and involved 124 million people in its efforts, most of whom were farmers to reforest their lands.

While the program stimulated local economies and revived tree coverage, its’ efforts did not reach the whole system, meaning it did not contribute much to biodiversity. In most regions only 3 types of tree species were planted. The monoculture of trees had an adverse impact on native animals. A study released in the journal Nature showed that Grain-for-Green led to a significant drop in bird and bee populations due to the low biodiversity.

Eco-farming is another potential solution which aims to minimize harmful chemicals to yield organic produce. Fortunately, there is a rise in eco-driven model of organic farming. With the growing trade of organic products around the world, more and more attention is given towards eco-friendly farming practices.

In China, the value of exported organic products increased from $300,000 in 1995 to $300,000 million at the end of the year 2004. This data from the certifying body of COFCC of Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) indicates a positive trend yet it’s important to note that even if something is labeled “organic” it does not mean that the farm where it came from is totally free of chemicals.

Depending on the scale of the farm, it’s typically impossible to be completely chemical-free. For a small plot of land maybe it is more manageable, but for a large-scale operation, farmers must ward off bugs and bacteria, and chemicals are one method of dealing with them.

Keeping the balance is complicated but it is a moral imperative for the health of bees and the biodiversity of forests. There is also a growing market for organic products which makes it a win-win for people, business, and the planet.

An ecological philosophy

Walden Farm is a family farm in Northern Sichuan which has adopted the eco-driven model of organic farming and over the years it has managed to become 80% chemical-free. Their mission is to create a sustainable model for rural development and at the heart of their philosophy is Taoism, an ancient Chinese philosophy.

Taoism offers an ecological view of things, which bees embody. Taoism is a religion and philosophy original to China. Its essential wisdom is to live in harmony with nature. From an ecological perspective, Taoism teaches how to see the whole and to allow one’s actions to arise from the bigger vision. To be aligned with the Tao, which translates to “the way,” is to live in accordance with the larger workings of nature.

As stated earlier, an ecosystem is a great big support network where everything is connected. A Full embrace of Taoist teachings means living symbiotically with the planet, treating it sacred as it is in its present condition. An ecological view and Taoism join where the aim is to minimize waste and harm.

Lao Tzi, the founder of Taoism, brought forth three teachings: patience, compassion, and simplicity. These principles are straightforward but can also be challenging. In the context of a farm, it takes patience for things to grow naturally through the four seasons and adversities, and it takes compassion to fully appreciate the hard work of farmers and animals in their relationship with the whole system.

At Walden Farm, chickens are free range in accordance with the ratio of chicken count and grazing area. They partner with neighboring farms such as one which keeps bees in a mutual partnership across their lands.

Volunteers who work on the farm are guided in a free-flowing manner to explore what they like to work on. The energy of whole place seems to have a guiding tone rather than a commanding one from central person. I signed up as a volunteer for two weeks and after learning that I like Poetry, Lin the volunteer manager told me, “enjoy your stay and write your poems.”

I felt guilty to just write poems since they provided food and housing and other volunteers had done some really cool things like build houses and paint big paintings. Eventually, I eased into the experience and began to write, which is what I like anyway.

The Yin and Yang is a core symbol to Taoism which expresses the dynamic balance that exists within nature. The health of the system depends on how well this balance is preserved. An eco-view sees the interplay of dynamic expressions that mutually benefit the individual and the whole. On the other hand, an ego-view perceives things in isolation, in fixed states which can have adverse impacts on the environment.

The circle in Yin and Yang represents the “eco” where all is connected. An eco-farm is one where it exists in partnership with its environment. Just as the farm would take from its livestock, it would also take care of their livelihood and wellbeing. Just as bees exist to serve their queen, they also enrich the biodiversity of their environment and serve its resilience.

Humanity lives in an eco-system where oxygen, food, and shade are provided. With nature’s abundance, we have a choice to cherish the Earth and symbiotically co-exist with its elemental parts. Bees, in their natural way, enrich the eco-system and there is much we can learn from their presence, and their absence. An ecological view, as in Taoism, is the continuous recognition of the whole system towards a harmoneous co-existence in the natural world.