Support Honey Bee Health and The Future of Our Food Supply for National Pollinator Week

LONGMONT, Colo. (June 21, 2018) - The National Honey Board, Almond Board of California, Project Apis m. and CollaborateUp unite to illuminate the symbiotic relationship between honey bees and the agricultural industry in the inspiring new documentary “The Job Swap Experiment.” The film puts almond growers and beekeepers in each other’s shoes, offering a firsthand look at what each industry does to protect bees. The film features growers, beekeepers, crop advisors, and hive management advisors, who use their expertise in insects to provide insight into pollinators and all that they do for our food. To view the film, click here, or see below:

Without honey bees, around 90 crops that grow in the U.S. wouldn't exist, including almonds. The U.S. almond crop is a prime example of how bees impact our varied food supply. The major California-grown crop needs cross-pollination from bees to grow, and the bees also benefit from the nutritious almond pollen.  

"Honey bee health is a matter that is close to our hearts," said Bob Curtis, Director of Agricultural Affairs, Almond Board of California. "Because of their essential role in pollination, the California Almond community has funded over 100 research projects supporting honey bees, more than any other crop group, and adopted practices to protect bees in the orchard and beyond." 

It's a mutually-beneficial relationship and just one instance of honey bees' vital role in our food supply. Other examples of majorly-consumed foods that rely on pollinators include coffee, apples, peaches, blueberries, melons, avocados, carrots, among many others. 

"The global agriculture industry depends on healthy honey bees and other pollinators. Without pollinators, more than $15 billion in U.S. agriculture and the future of our food supply would be at risk,"  said Margaret Lombard, Chief Executive Officer, National Honey Board. "We at the National Honey Board are grateful for the work the almond industry does to protect bees and we feel a strong responsibility to educate key players in the agriculture industry and consumers on the problems at hand. We're glad to have partnered with CollaborateUp, Project Apis m. and the Almond Board to bring this important story to life." 

"Most people do not realize what it takes to pollinate our food crops. Almond trees alone rent two-thirds of the nation's bees for pollination.  After almonds, these working bees move to apples, berries and seed crops," said Danielle Downey, Executive Director, Project Apis m. "Our health depends on healthy honey bees, and there is no back up plan if they fail. This film transports you to the largest pollination event in the world, and shows how we can all work together to ensure its success."  

"During filming, our job-swappers learned firsthand the vital importance of planting nutritious forage that bees can feed on while they're working in and around production agriculture," said Richard Crespin, Chief Executive Officer, CollaborateUp. "We'd like to see more growers plant these crops, and we as consumers can help them by supporting programs like Project Apis m.'s Seeds for Bees, which helps subsidize planting forage cover crops. We hope that more people will watch the film and donate to important programs to help maintain a healthy population of bees."  

National Pollinator Week, held June 18-24, is a simple reminder of the importance of pollinators, including honey bees, and the impact they have on our food supply. Anyone can help secure the future of our food by supporting pollinators. Planting pollinator-friendly flowers, eliminating weeds by hand instead of with pesticides and donating to pollinator-focused organizations are all worthwhile ways to help. Find more information on way to help the bees here. 

About National Honey Board
The National Honey Board (NHB) is an industry-funded agriculture promotion group that works to educate consumers about the benefits and uses for honey and honey products through research, marketing and promotional programs. The Board's work, funded by an assessment on domestic and imported honey, is designed to increase the awareness and usage of honey by consumers, the foodservice industry and food manufacturers. The ten-member-Board, appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, represents producers (beekeepers), packers, importers and a marketing cooperative. For more information, visit www.honey.com. 

About Almond Board of California
Almonds from California are a natural, wholesome and quality food. The Almond Board of California promotes almonds through its research-based approach to all aspects of marketing, farming and production on behalf of the more than 6,800 almond growers and 101 processors in California, many of whom are multi-generational family operations. Established in 1950 and based in Modesto, California, the Almond Board of California is a non-profit organization that administers a grower-enacted Federal Marketing Order under the supervision of the United States Department of Agriculture. For more information on the Almond Board of California or almonds, visit Almonds.com or check out California Almonds on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the California Almonds blog.

About Project Apis m. 
Project Apis m. (PAm) is the go-to organization at the interface of honey bees and pollinated crops. Since 2006, PAm has infused over $6 million into honey bee health research to benefit growers, beekeepers and consumers. Working closely with commercial beekeepers, growers, and top bee scientists in the USA and Canada to direct strategic efforts focused on practical solutions, PAm funds research studies and enhances honey bee health and nutrition by replacing forage on the landscape. PAm is a non-profit 501 (c) (5) organization governed by a nine-member board of beekeepers, pollinators and honey producers, with five dedicated scientific advisors. For more information on Project Apis m., visit www.projectapism.org.

About CollaborateUp & The Bee Understanding Project
CollaborateUp works to accelerate collaboration among companies, nonprofits, and governments when they take on big challenges. Since 2013, CollaborateUp has been actively involved in numerous cross-sector efforts to improve biodiversity and honey bee health, including helping launch the Honey Bee Health Coalition and starting The Bee Understanding Project, a coordinated set of job swaps in multiple crops designed to build empathy among growers, beekeepers, and across the food system. The first Bee Understanding Project documentary short film has been viewed thousands of times and won a Telly Award for excellence in documentary film. To learn more, please visit www.collaborateup.com or follow us on Twitter at @collaborateup.

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Name: Jessica Schindler

Phone: (303)776-2337

Email: [email protected]