Insect mortality
New concepts for the future of bees, bumblebees and co.
What attentive nature observers have long noticed is scientifically proven reality: insect populations around the globe are in massive decline. Studies show drastic declines for Germany not only in already rare species, but also in bees, butterflies and other insects that are widespread. The fact that the numerous flying insects, moths and bee species are not only food for numerous animals, but above all indispensable for human food production, makes this development a threatening scenario for human survival. The research findings suggest causes and point to the importance of initiating profound changes in food consumption for the future.
Insect mortality is a reality
Back in 2018, a study was published in the prestigious science journal PLOS ONE with startling results: after 27 years of field research, researchers at Radboud University in the Netherlands found a 75% decline in insects. At more than 60 locations, the population of numerous insect species was checked year after year – everywhere with the same alarming figures. In their traps, the researchers found a majority of the expected insect species, but in lower and lower numbers. The projections showed that during the observation period the total biomass of insects decreased by three quarters of its original mass.
Climate data were also among the results evaluated by the research group. Weather stations and aerial photographs from the regions studied were used, and changes in biotopes were also included in the evaluation. It turns out that climate data and landscape changes on the ground cannot be solely responsible for the drastic insect die-offs. There must be other causes. In a cultural landscape like Germany, where nature reserves are usually relatively small and surrounded by agricultural land, it is obvious to look for the triggers for insect mortality there.
A number of changes in our environment are suspected of being responsible for species extinction. The growing area of sealed areas, the elimination of fallow land, grassland conversion and large-scale mowing, and overgrazing on agricultural land are among them. In recent years, the use of insecticides and herbicides has become a particular focus of attention: intensive agriculture with all its interventions in the ecology seems to be the main cause of the dramatic decline in insects.
Protecting insects through organic farming?
Conservationists have long called for fundamental change in agriculture.
Based on studies conducted over several years, for example by the Zoologische Staatssammlung in Munich, the influence of agricultural land on insect populations is becoming increasingly clear. Thus, it can be seen that in areas managed under organic farming, the balance of species and insect numbers is significantly better. Insects, spiders, moths and other species were found in significantly higher abundance on organically farmed land than where conventional farming was widely practiced. The results of such studies clearly show: In terms of biodiversity, occurrence of endangered species and biomass, organic farming offers clear advantages.
Disadvantages of the organic agricultural sector: How the organic approach struggles with competition
For the cultivation of food, man needs the insects. But the organic farming solution cannot be implemented without problems and new challenges.
Organic farming operations aim to produce high quality food without exploiting people, animals or nature in general. They rely on resource-conserving, sustainable cultivation methods without pesticides or insecticides.
What is beneficial for nature and thus for the insects, however, brings some challenges for the farmer. Those who work without the pest control from the chemical initially have lower crop yields. This, combined with the growing world population and its increasing demand for food, poses major challenges for the agricultural revolution. How can we succeed in producing enough food for people on the one hand and establishing the less productive organic farming method worldwide on the other?
At this point, at the latest, consumers come into play.
Let’s take a closer look at conventional agriculture using dairy products as an example. To date, conventional production accounts for a large part of the market here. It is not only pesticides and insecticides that are harmful to the environment. The human habit of consuming cow’s milk and dairy products also causes high emissions and enormous land consumption. The emissions of factory farming – hundreds of cows whose digestive system produces climate-damaging methane – and the cultivation of feed for the animals cause the production of one liter of cow’s milk to produce a global average of around 2.4 kilos of carbon dioxide. This is about the same as the amount calculated for one liter of gasoline. Transport, storage, processing of dairy products are not even included in the calculation. All this makes the liquid food milk a real climate killer.
Eating sustainably for tomorrow's insect population
The negative effects of meat and milk production are now well known. For some years now, more and more people have therefore been switching to liquid foods made from plant-based alternatives. The example of milk alternatives already shows what a change in consumer behavior can achieve.
Plant milk made from soy, rice, oats or peas developed from a trendy product to a standard on every supermarket shelf. It is not yet a matter of course to do without liquid food from animal production, but the statistics speak for themselves.
Studies on the life cycle assessment have shown that oat and soy milk in particular perform significantly better than conventionally produced cow’s milk. The numbers clearly speak for the new plant products: For example, a study for an oat drink company determined that compared to semi-fat cow’s milk, an oat milk made with regional ingredients has about 70% fewer climate-damaging consequences. Energy consumption is 40% lower and the land area used is as much as 80% less. Suppliers are following consumers’ wishes and are increasingly using regional raw materials for their liquid foods made from oats or soy, and the proportion of organically grown ingredients is also rising steadily.
The growing number of people who eat a vegan, vegetarian or at least flexitarian diet can therefore have a positive impact on agriculture and its emissions. More organically cultivated land benefits insect diversity, less arable land needed because of declining meat and dairy consumption creates new land for human food instead of animal feed. This gives every consumer his or her own options for action: Anyone who switches from liquid food from conventional cowsheds to oat milk or soy products is supporting the urgently needed conversion of agriculture to environmentally friendly production. This is because not only does it eliminate the need for climate-damaging factory farming, but the arable land required for plant milk is also far smaller than that needed for dairy cows, beef cattle and all the other farm animals that have so far supplied people with meat and dairy products.