Article One: Crop pollination from native bees at risk from agricultural intensification
An article published in PNAS found that a lack of plant diversity for bees caused insufficient pollination services in watermelons. The study compared organic and conventional farming management as well as proximity to naturally biodiverse land. Pollination contribution and abundance of bees was measured through the number of newly opened female flowers in the watermelon vine and the number of bees that visited the flower. The results found that bees pollinating organic farms that were near biodiverse flora were able to provide full pollination service. However, as biodiversity of the surrounding area decreased, the pollination services could not meet the needs of the watermelon. The abundance of the bees also decreased in the monocultured areas because their nutritional needs where also not met. The researchers concluded that plant diversity is essential in maintaining a healthy colony and warned that expansion of incentive farming will create ecosystems that will not support native or commercial bees (Kremen, Williams, & Thorp, 2002).
This article is a reliable source because it was published by PNAS. This journal is the official academic journal for the Academy of Science, a nongovernmental agency charges with research and development for the purpose of advising law makers on policies related to science and technology. PNAS’ website states they have a three tiered per-review system that submitted articles must undergo.
This article will be useful because it will help me to establish that monocultures do not meet the nutritional needs of the bees or the crops they are supposed to pollenate. The study found a decrease in the population of bees when they did not have their nutrient needs met. I can possibly link this to the study below by saying that nutritional stress leads to immunosuppression and infection in my one of the causes subsection title Nutritional Stress.
Article Two: Impact of nutritional stress on the honeybee colony health
An article published in Scientific Reports analyzed how habitat depletion and loss of biodiversity impact the strength and health of the hive. 62 colonies were placed in a nutritionally poor Eucalyptus grandis plantation for the season and divided into two groups. Half of the hives receives a polyfloral pollen supplement and was used as a control. The researchers examined pollen composition, colony strength and Nosema ceranae infection. The bees that received the supplement had high concentrations of amino acids in the pollen, higher populations of adult bees and lower rates of infection over the growing season. It was concluded that nutritional stress is linked with the suppression of the immune system making bees more vulnerable to disease (Branchiccela et al, 2019).
This article is a reliable source because is was published in the academic journal Scientific Reports. This an open access journal and its sources are used in policy documents. This journal has a rigorous peer-review process because they partner with a large network of experts in various fields.
This article will be helpful in the paper to explain one of the Immunosuppression causes subsection to support by colony collapse disorder is occurring. I will most likely use it to transition into the expansion of agriculture, which is how I will address money, power and control matters for this section.
Article Three: Linking Agriculture, Nutrition, and Health: The Role of the Registered Dietitian Nutritionist
An article published The Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics summarized the consensus among nutrition leaders on the role the profession of dietetics should take in addressing sustainability and environmental stewardship to achieve global nutrition capacity. The goals of the conference were to identify areas where health and nutrition interact with agriculture and what members can do to strengthen efforts in sustainable agriculture. The panel of experts also sought to find ways RDs can be involved in initiatives that seek to increase availability of nutrient dense food to improve nutrition interventions. And finally, to increase the scope of practice by expanding curriculum to better educate future professionals about the impact of agriculture. The academy officially recognizes that dietitians have a responsibility to promote sustainable farming and protect the environment to ensure access to nutrient dense food to prevent malnutrition and chronic disease. They also believe RDs can be valuable assets in these efforts because of their unique skill set in assessing equitable diets and nutrition intervention outcomes.
This article is reliable because it was published by The Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics, the official academic journal published by the largest professional organization for registered dietitians in the United States. It is a peer-reviewed journal that is published monthly for professionals in the nutrition and dietetics fields. This article can also be found on PubMed, the largest academic journal database in the world.
This article will be important in the ethical perspective of the paper where I will need to establish the role of the dietitian in protecting biodiversity from the Academy’s perspective. In this section will need to discuss the role that the Academy, ACEND and CDR have decided to take on this topic. This article establishes that the Academy has the most progressive position in promoting the incorporation of environmentalism of the three professional organizations. I will need to review the competencies related to environmental stewardship ACEND requires in dietetic programs and the continuing education credits that CDR accepts related to biodiversity, agriculture and sustainability.
References
Branchiccela, B., Castelli, L., Corona, M., Díaz-Cetti, S., Invernizzi, C., Martínez de la Escalera, G., Mendoza, Y., Santos, E., Silva, C., Zunino, P., & Antúnez, K. (2019). Impact of nutritional stress on the honeybee colony health. Scientific reports, 9(1), 10156. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-46453-9
Doublet, V., Labarussias, M., de Miranda, J. R., Moritz, R. F., & Paxton, R. J. (2015). Bees under stress: sublethal doses of a neonicotinoid pesticide and pathogens interact to elevate honey bee mortality across the life cycle. Environmental microbiology, 17(4), 969–983. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.12426
Kremen, C., Williams, N. M., & Thorp, R. W. (2002). Crop pollination from native bees at risk from agricultural intensification. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 99(26), 16812–16816. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.262413599
Vogliano, C., Steiber, A., & Brown, K. (2015). Linking Agriculture, Nutrition, and Health: The Role of the Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 115(10), 1710–1714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2015.06.009
