As family and friends gather to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, it’s important to remember what got you to that table. Sure it’s the hard cooking labor in the kitchen and the difficult travel some family members took to get there. But we should also set aside time to reflect on some smaller, unheralded creatures that made our meal possible. Simply put, bees have made numerous contributions to most families’ hearty Thanksgiving feasts. 没有蜜蜂, some of our signature holiday dishes would even lose their namesake ingredients -- such as the pumpkin in pumpkin pie.
事实上, if you go down your Thanksgiving list, the bee plays an indispensable role at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Below is a list of foods that rely on bees:
- 青豆砂锅:洋葱
- 甘薯的腿
- 填料:洋葱
- 红莓酱
- Roasted vegetables: brussels sprouts, carrots
- 南瓜饼
- 苹果派
- 咖啡
From the savory to the sweet, bees make the delicious foods on our plate possible. These bee-pollinated staples add color and nutrition to our plates year-round.
Thanksgiving staples that need bees. Yellow labels indicate ingredients that rely on bees. Blue labels show foods that have an indirect but often complementary relationship with bees.
While a bee-less Thanksgiving would still have the centerpiece turkey and a few sides, they would be less flavorful without pollinators. The butter used in creamy mashed potatoes and soft dinner rolls, as well as other dairy products, gets a big assist from bees that pollinate the alfalfa that feeds cows.
In addition, a farm turkey’s diet typically has a 以玉米和大豆为基础, neither of which needs bees to grow, but visits from those pollinators can 提高大豆产量. And what’s more, many of the herbs used to season the bird, including thyme, rosemary and sage, are 蜜蜂最喜欢.
Wine connoisseurs and novices, 像我这样, can thank bees for contributing to the age-old beverage as well. Grapes are not directly pollinated by bees, but the 覆盖用于增强的作物 vineyards’ performance and wine flavors rely on bees.
Nature’s best pollinators help create the flavors of Thanksgiving. Above, a bee pollinates apple blossoms.
Despite how much they have to offer to our Thanksgiving feast and beyond, bees face challenges that are putting them in peril. Pesticide use, habitat loss and climate change are among the major factors that hurt bees.
美国有 4,000 species of native bees,然而, 超过一半 of species examined are in decline. Honey bees are also faring poorly. 去年,你.S. 养蜂人报道 失去45.5%的殖民地, which was the second highest annual loss rate on record.
As we give thanks for bees this holiday season and look ahead to making our new year resolutions, there are a few ways you can help save these pollinators.
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种植一个蜜蜂友好型花园. Gardens are havens for bees and other pollinators. Incorporating a variety of flowering plants helps support many bee species. 28365365备用网址 your local nursery for native plants that are favorites of bees.
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减少杀虫剂的使用. Aim to create a low- to no-pesticide yard to avoid the unintended negative consequences pesticides often have on bees. 这个感恩节, consider adding organic foods to your cart, since these foods avoid synthetic pesticides known to harm bees.
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打电话给你选出的官员. Make your voice heard by picking up the phone and calling your elected officials -- city, state or federal -- to urge them to support initiatives to increase bee habitat or reduce pesticide use.
During this Thanksgiving dinner, and the many meals of leftovers that follow, I hope you share my renewed appreciation for bees and take the next step to help ensure these amazing creatures thrive.
Top photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels.