Neonictinoids

In the last four years alone over a quarter trillion honeybees have died prematurely. Of the 100 crop species providing 90 percent of the world's food -- over 74 percent are pollinated by bees.

Why should we care about the plight of honeybees? Because the entire food chain is at risk. One in three bites of food we eat is directly dependent on insect pollination.

This year, I give thanks to the 1.8 trillion honeybees that directly account for a quarter of a trillion dollars of worldwide commerce annually.

Each year, our global biosphere endures an onslaught of 5 billion pounds of insecticides. These insecticides have caused a dramatic decline for many common grassland bird species.