The Critical Role of Pollinators in Food Security

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Close up picture of bees visiting bright yellow flowers

Why Pollinators Matter

Recently, the Western Wheel reported that the MD of Foothills had passed a bylaw restricting beekeeping, leaving local beekeepers — in their words — “buzzing mad.” [^1]

“Foothills County’s Land Use Bylaw 60/2014 (with amendments including Bylaw 19/2015) continues to include provisions requiring development permits for beehives in designated zones, particularly for smaller “country residential” parcels. As of the latest consolidated version (January 2024) and subsequent council meetings, I found no verifiable evidence that this requirement has been removed — though there has been some discussion about modifying conditions. If you know of a recent change, I’d welcome the info.”

It might sound like a small rural policy decision, but its implications reach far beyond a few hives. Pollinators are at the heart of our food system: one in every three bites of food depends on them. When a municipality bans or restricts beekeeping, it doesn’t just affect honey production — it strikes at the foundation of local food security, biodiversity, and sustainable living.

And here’s the question we need to ask ourselves: what if this decision is adopted here?

Even my granddaughters, both raised around animals and hyper-aware of biodiversity, immediately understood the stakes: “How can they ban bees when everything depends on them?” It’s a reminder that the next generation sees the urgency that, too often, local decision-making seems to miss.

In this post, I want to explore not just what is happening in Foothills County, but what it means for communities like ours — and why choosing to ban pollinators could be one of the most short-sighted moves a town can make.

Pollinators are not just a niche interest of hobbyist beekeepers — they are the invisible workforce that sustains life as we know it. Globally, more than 75% of flowering plants and about one-third of the food we eat depend on pollination [^2]. Without bees and other insects, our diets would be stripped down to far fewer fruits, vegetables, and nuts.

Locally

Here in Alberta, pollinators play an especially important role in supporting:

  • Local gardens and food production — from backyard tomatoes to community gardens.
  • Prairie biodiversity — native wildflowers, shrubs, and trees rely on insect pollination to reproduce.
  • Agricultural crops — canola, berries, and alfalfa seed all depend heavily on pollinators.

The irony of banning bees is stark. At a time when we should be encouraging sustainable food production and ecological resilience, restrictions only accelerate a crisis we can’t afford to ignore.

As Oliver Milman puts it in The Insect Crisis, the decline of insects is “quietly apocalyptic.” It’s not just about losing honey — it’s about unraveling the threads of ecosystems that provide us with clean water, fertile soil, and food on the table.

In short, banning beekeeping doesn’t just reduce honey jars at the farmer’s market — it chips away at the very systems that sustain our communities.

The Bigger Picture: The Insect Crisis

The debate over bees in Foothills may feel local, but it’s part of a much bigger and more troubling story. Around the world, insect populations are collapsing. Studies suggest that up to 40% of insect species are in decline and that the total biomass of insects is shrinking at an alarming pace.

In his book The Insect Crisis, Oliver Milman calls this trend “quietly apocalyptic.” Unlike dramatic extinctions of larger animals, insect declines often happen out of sight — yet their disappearance shakes the foundations of life. Insects pollinate plants, recycle nutrients, feed birds and fish, and form the very base of food webs.

When we allow policies to further restrict pollinators — even unintentionally — we’re not just tinkering with a local nuisance. We’re accelerating a global unravelling.

And here’s the stark truth: we cannot afford to lose them. Without pollinators, biodiversity shrinks, crops fail, and ecosystems collapse. Every bylaw, every garden choice, every municipal policy either contributes to this crisis or helps slow it.

The challenge for communities like ours is clear: will we follow the path of prohibition, or will we take up the responsibility to protect and encourage the tiny lifeforms that keep us all alive?

Lessons From Elsewhere

It doesn’t have to be this way. Around the world — and right here in Alberta — communities are charting a different course.

  • Bee-Friendly Cities: Places like Toronto and Edmonton have adopted pollinator strategies, encouraging residents to plant native species, reduce pesticide use, and even host urban hives in safe, regulated ways. Instead of prohibition, they choose education and coexistence.
  • Pollinator Pathways: In the U.S. and U.K., networks of pollinator-friendly gardens are stitched together across urban areas, creating safe corridors where bees, butterflies, and other insects can thrive.
  • Riparian Health: Locally, groups like Cows and Fish remind us how important riparian zones are for biodiversity and resilience. Healthy riverbanks support native plants and pollinators, filter water, and stabilize soils. Restricting beekeeping while ignoring these wider habitat needs is like putting out a candle while a forest burns.
  • Biomimicry and Hope: As Janine Benyus teaches, nature offers models for how to live well. A thriving meadow or wetland is biodiverse, resilient, and cooperative — and we can design our communities the same way. Rather than fighting against the insects that sustain us, we can learn from them and work alongside them.

These examples show that prohibition is not the only path. We have models of education, cooperation, and regeneration that support pollinators and biodiversity instead of shutting them out.

Ramifications of a Ban Here

So what would it mean if our town followed Foothills MD’s lead and banned beekeeping within corporate limits?

First, it would cut against everything we’ve been working toward as a community. We talk about sustainability, local food production, and resilience — yet a ban on pollinators would make those goals almost impossible to reach. How can we promote xeriscaping, lawn buy-back programs, or local gardens if the very insects that make them thrive are outlawed?

Second, it would silence one of the most tangible ways families can connect with biodiversity. My granddaughters were raised with animals and have cared for many of their own. At fifteen and younger, they are already hyper-aware of how biodiversity underpins everything. They know — instinctively — that bees and pollinators are not optional, they are essential. When the youngest among us can see this truth so clearly, how can decision-makers ignore it?

Finally, it would place us on the wrong side of history. While other communities move toward pollinator-friendly policies, our town would be remembered as the one that chose prohibition over participation, fear over resilience. And that’s a legacy we can ill afford.

Call to Action: Smarter Choices, Not Bans

The choice before us is simple. We can treat pollinators as a nuisance to be prohibited, or we can recognize them as the allies they are — the foundation of our food systems, gardens, and ecosystems.

Instead of bans, we need balanced approaches:

  • Clear guidelines for safe hive placement.
  • Education for new beekeepers.
  • Pollinator-friendly plantings in public spaces and private yards.
  • Reduced pesticide use that harms bees and other insects.

Citizens can take action, too. Planting native flowers, supporting biodiversity in our yards, and participating in restoration initiatives through platforms like Restor.eco

“If you’d like to explore further, here are some of the resources, reports, and readings that informed this post and continue to shape my understanding of pollinators and biodiversity.”

📚 References & Further Resources

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