this post was submitted on 12 Oct 2025
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[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 100 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (11 children)

Ok but,

Cows don't require bees. The food that cows eat (wheat, grass, soy) either pollinates by wind or spreads by root. Soybean benefits, but doesn't rely on, insect pollination. Alfalfa is pollinated by bees, as are most forms of clover.

Cocoa trees are pollinated by midges, not bees. And the rest of the shake comes from the above mentioned cows.

Lettuce also self-pollinates, though again insects help. Commercially, they're not really used.

Tomatoes are commercially pollinated by shaking them, because commercial tomatoes are optimized for making food and are pretty shit at being plants.

Potatoes are basically the only major ingredient that is pollinated by bees. But that's basically never used by anyone growing potatoes, since potatoes also spread asexually by tubers.

Stuff in this pic that IS pollinated by bees: the sugar beets that are potentially in everything (edit: nope, that's wrong) but not the corn you can also use for sugar. Cucumber for the pickles. Some oil plants to fry in. Coconut or almond if you don't want cow milk. Sesame seeds on the bun.

[–] Redjard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Sugar beet seeds are produced via wind pollination in dedicated very compact setups. They plant strips of male and female plants with controlled distances.
As far as I can tell no pollinators are involved anywhere in the sugar beet industry.

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 6 points 4 days ago

Huh I remembered wrong. Thanks for the correction

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[–] skuzz@discuss.tchncs.de 26 points 4 days ago (2 children)

The kinds of bees in the US are not native to the US. Plants were pollinated in the US long before Africanized or European honey bees were brought over.

Bigger problem is that we're killing generalized insect populations, so the quantity of insects is on a decline.

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 8 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

That doesn’t make premise of the original statement untrue. It’s pretty irrelevant that honeybees aren’t native because their mass pollination does make our food production work the way it does and there’s no way natives can do the job. You might as well just as effectively point out less humans would be better so we don’t need as many crops produced. You might be right, but you’re yelling at clouds.

As far as killing off too many insects in general is concerned, fuck yes that’s a problem. Our worries revolve around crops, but there’s a shitload of nature that still depends on natural pollinators and other insects to do all kinds of jobs. We kill them off and we’re screwed.

[–] InvalidName2@lemmy.zip 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

and there’s no way natives can do the job.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'm curious if you have relevant peer reviewed information to back that statement up.

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Nope. There are multiple papers citing native pollinators as “gap fillers” for crop pollination, but none suggesting they can take over completely. On top of that, honey bees can be managed like livestock and hives can be moved en masse to where pollination is needed, something that cannot be done with natives.

[–] skuzz@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

To be fair, the crops didn't exist when the native pollinators were alpha, so the argument is semi-irrelevant. Again, the bigger problem is just that insect populations are failing. The focus should be fixing that, with that comes the bees. Although, that means fixing climate change. Soooo....

To be fair? You can’t just say that and remove the point of the discussion - the pollination of modern agricultural methods - and then say it’s Irrelevant. What kind of argument is that?

[–] chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

Wild pollinators are nice for us home gardeners but they cannot sustain the high production of commercial produce farming.

If we went to a no-domestic-pollinator system it would dramatically cut food production and jack up food prices.

[–] falseWhite@lemmy.world 27 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I guess that means the buns are made from plastic?

[–] munsking@lemmy.world 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

in america? yes, plastic and corn syrup

[–] call_me_xale@lemmy.zip 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Does corn not require pollinators?

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 days ago

Its actually wind pollinated, its kind of weird.

[–] 30p87@feddit.org 19 points 4 days ago

Actually, it's not unlikely that everything would be gone, as the human species would be gone, or in extreme trouble.

[–] InvalidName2@lemmy.zip 6 points 3 days ago

So, I'm not saying this is absolutely incorrect, the point is that our food production is heavily reliant on bees which I'm fully in agreement with, but I'm a bit at a loss at how inaccurate this photo is.

The good news is, I was expecting a thread full of comments falling for this misinformation hook line and sinker, but I'm seeing some push back on the specifics, which gives me hope.

No, I don't hate bees or hope they go extinct, but I grew up in a rural farming area of the USA and currently live in a rural farming area of the USA, so I'm aware that not everything that's missing on the left is entirely dependent on bees.

[–] MarxWuzRight@lemmy.world 12 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Doesn't wheat used for the bun also need bees?

[–] general_kitten@sopuli.xyz 12 points 4 days ago

i think wheat is wind pollinated and therefore not reliant on bees

[–] The_v@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

Wheat is mostly self-pollinating with very little outcrossing due to wind.

[–] marcos@lemmy.world 12 points 4 days ago (3 children)

I'm confused. Why cows would get extinct, but the chicken eggs for the bread will still exist?

[–] nervousnerd@lemmy.world 23 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Umm most white bread does not usually contain eggs; usually flour, water, yeast, oil, and salt. Wheat is apparently self pollinating.

[–] yakko@feddit.uk 7 points 4 days ago

The standard burger bun is brioche (not very nice brioche, granted, but they still call it that)

[–] marcos@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

If it has a yellow outside (like the one on the photo), it has eggs.

Also, that "oil" is bee pollinated too.

[–] BC_viper@lemmy.world 12 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

Bees no longer pollinating the cows food? I'm assuming they think cows eat only things that are pollinated, and not grass which is propagated by roots.

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 6 points 4 days ago

The only cow food I know that needs insect is clover and alfalfa. Grass, wheat and even soybeans do OK without.

[–] finitebanjo@piefed.world 6 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Also the wheat? The shoots might be fine but it wouldn't produce grains.

EDIT: Wheat is wind pollinated.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 6 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

Milkshake and cheese burger gone; bun left on plate

Bees make milk? Beef? Cheese? 🤔

afaik bees don't pollinate grasses that cows eat.

Fuck I don't even believe the potatoes would be affected. Those things will grow entirely on their own. They don't even need water or dirt!

[–] The_v@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

Dairy cows eat more than grass species. They need a higher protein potion of their ration. This is usually fulfilled by alfalfa, clover, canola seed meal, etc which are mostly bee pollinated.

French fries are fried in vegetable oils like flaxseed or canola. Both are bee pollinated.

[–] OddMinus1@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

What happened to the plastic straw?

[–] vithigar@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 days ago

It was used to kill the bees.

[–] Oisteink@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

You need bees to get potatoes?

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

arnt potatoes propagated by thier tubers. and through flowers/pollination. things like apples, prunus genus needs bees.

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 7 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Potatoes do both. Potato seeds are produced from fertilizing potato flowers, and can then grow into new plants.

But they also spread asexually via tubers, which is way more convenient for farming.

[–] The_v@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

Tubers are used because the type we eat are tetraploids. Tetraploids (aka 4 copies of every chromosome) produce very little seeds. Generally less than 1/10th what a diploid version will. In potatoes it can be a low as 1/10,000th.

Using tubers transmits all sorts of nasty diseases from one crop to the next. Seeds do too but not as much.

Diploids are not used commercially because they produce smaller tubers and longer vines.

I'm so glad that we have bees to pollinate the straw fields.

Also, if wheat can grow without pollination, we would still be able to feed cows.

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 1 points 3 days ago

Neither meal looks particularly appealing. Those have to be the most anaemic fries I've ever seen, even by the standards of American fast food.

[–] Hikermick@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

Wish sandwich

[–] Cantaloupe877@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago

The future looks bright!

[–] BC_viper@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Except the bun would also be gone.

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 10 points 4 days ago

Wheat isn't pollinated by insects. It's self-pollinating by wind.

On the other hand, I'm reasonably sure cows also don't require bees to reproduce.

[–] jonman364@sh.itjust.works 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)
[–] hide@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)
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