Bee active

May/June 2008

Helping the unstung hero

The food producer responsible for one of every three bites the average American eats is in crisis. Meet the humble honeybee.

Honeybees are responsible for pollinating more than 100 different crops – worth $15 billion annually in the United States – and are a key factor in the ability of farmers to provide food products to the world.

But honeybees are dying at an alarming rate. Over the last several winters, more than 25 percent of the honeybee population in the United States has vanished, many under mysterious circumstances.

This disappearance has scientists stumped and has the potential to affect America's favorite nuts, fruits and berries – key ingredients in some of the most popular flavors of Häagen-Dazs ice cream. To help discover and prevent what's killing these unstung heroes, Häagen-Dazs has launched the "Häagen-Dazs loves Honey Bees" campaign to fund research at the University of California, Davis, and Pennsylvania State University.

The Oakland-based ice cream maker has also introduced a new honeybee-dedicated flavor – Vanilla Honey Bee – and is tagging all of its honeybee-dependent flavors with an "HD loves HB" icon. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the new flavor and the tagged flavors will be used to fund the company's donation to UC Davis and Penn State.

"We are elated with Häagen-Dazs' generosity," said Shasta County beekeeper Shannon Wooten, a member of the California Farm Bureau Federation board of directors and of the California State Beekeepers Association. "The beekeepers had an opportunity to sample Häagen-Dazs' new honey flavor and it is really, really good. We are happy that they've got a great-tasting product that will enhance us a little bit and also convey their concerns about the health of honeybees."

For more on how you can take part in the Häagen-Dazs campaign, visit www.helpthehoneybees.com. If you'd like more information about honey and honeybees, visit the National Honey Board's site at www.honey.com.