Results tagged “ccd”

You might not expect Julian Niccolini, “flamboyant” co-owner of the Four Seasons restaurant, to be connected to the urban beekeeping subculture. After all, this is a guy who presides over the eternal midtown power lunch, and just yesterday appeared in a Grub Street post talking about $34 ahi burgers and wine at $30 a glass. But look closely at the gentleman’s photo in that post, and you can make out the impression of a lapel pin, the same one seen in greater detail here. Turns out Mr. Niccolini hearts honey.

In his new book, Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of the Honeybee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis, author Rowan Jacobsen describes the effects of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) on beekeeping throughout the world. While the exact cause of CCD remains unknown, it clearly has the makings of a major agricultural crisis: Pollination is required in the life cycles for most every facet of our food supply. Among the nastier discoveries Jacobsen makes while telling the CCD story is that some industrial honeybees are forced to slurp down their share of high fructose corn syrup. Fall is also a DIY book; its appendices lay out resources for tyro beekeepers, including a breakdown of beneficial, bee-friendly “pollinator plants.”