As a college student, coffee is a staple in my mornings. It usually doesn’t matter what kind of coffee it is, but what I consistently do is reach for almond milk. Recently though, I’ve made the decision to switch to plant based milk in an attempt to try and reduce the amount of dairy I consume. That’s what led me to buying almond milk on a regular basis instead of milk of any other kind, and I’m not alone in doing that. The almond milk industry has grown 61% in the past 5 years. Although this is great news for almond farmers, it’s not such great news for the bees.
Bees are necessary in the production of almond milk because the plants that almonds grow from need to be pollinated. This makes sense in the production chain. However, what you might not know is that bees are being harmed in the process. Increased production of their natural jobs is pushing them into overdrive, working them harder than ever before. There are regulations in place for the environments they work in, for both their safety and well-being, but they are not being followed as closely as they should be.
The majority of the entire world’s almonds are grown in California. The same crops that the bees are working to pollinate are covered in potentially bee-killing pesticides. The farms that keep these bees tend to crowd too many into one space. Keeping the bees so close together is not only unfair for their well-being but also affects the health of the hives and spreads diseases because they all touch and share many things within the hive. Additionally, the bees are taken out of their winter hibernation too early in order to begin pollinating sooner.
Since researching this information, I’ve switched over to using strictly oat milk. The production of oats does not require pollination by bees and therefore completely eliminates any potential harm to the species. You should also consider making the switch to oat milk! It tastes the same and is better for the environment and the bees.
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