Not Again: Let’s Talk Honestly About Insect Pollination

I recently came across yet another publication stating that ‘Over 75% of the crop species of global significance for food production rely on animal pollination, primarily insects (up to 84% of commercial crops only in Europe)…’. The publication also talked about a ‘…pollinators crisis which was accentuating food security and ecosystem degradation. Indeed, over the recent years, there has been a drastic decline in both wild and managed pollinators.’

Yes, it is generally recognized that wild pollinators are in decline and more measures are needed. I have written about this in my earlier column ‘Stop! We’re Saving the Wrong Bees.’. But managed pollinators are certainly not in decline.

Rather the opposite.

The FAO estimated the number of bee colonies worldwide to be around 102.1 million in 2023. Compared to 1990, this corresponded to an increase of 47%. See also FAO’s statistics on honeybee hives: https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=FAO&f=itemCode%3A1181

Such statements often stop me in my tracks — not because the claim was new, but because it keeps getting repeated, despite being deeply misleading. The myth persists. So, let’s set the record straight and let’s really look at the numbers, not just the narrative.

The Origin of the 75% Claim

The figure that “75% of the crop species of global significance for food production rely on animal pollination” refers to crop types, not production volume or calorie contribution. That’s an important distinction. Yes, many fruit, nut, and vegetable crops do benefit from insect pollination. But when you look at the crops that actually feed the world — the staples that fill plates and stomachs every single day — you’ll find that insects have little to do with them.

What Actually Feeds Us

Here are the facts:

These crops are the backbone of the global diet. They account for the majority of global calorie and carbohydrate intake. And they don’t require insect pollination. Not at all. Other crops like peppers, tomatoes and even cucumbers produce a perfectly good harvest without any pollinators. Grape vines are primarily pollinated through a combination of wind and self-pollination.

Even some major non-food crops tell the same story. All grasses do not need any insect pollinators. Cotton is mostly self- or wind pollinated, hemp is wind pollinated, flax and jute are predominantly self-pollinated. Energy crops like Switchgrass and Miscanthus are wind pollinated. These are critical crops in agriculture—and they continue just fine without insect help. 

And let’s not forget that animal products make up another significant portion of the human diet and most animal feed is from plants not pollinated by bees.

So, the alarmist message that “we’d have no food without bees” is not just wrong — it’s counterproductive.

Where Insects Do Matter

That said, insect pollinators absolutely are essential — but for a more specific set of crops.

They are crucial for:

• Almonds, which are 100% dependent on insect pollination (mainly honeybees).
• Fruits like apples, cherries, melons, cucumbers, and berries, where yields and quality drop significantly without bees.
• Cocoa is primarily pollinated by tiny insects called midges, specifically those in the Ceratopogonidae family (biting midges).
• Although many coffee species, especially Coffea arabica, are capable of self-pollination, bee pollination can increase the yield of coffee beans by 50% or more and also improve the quality of the beans. 
• Vegetables like pumpkins, courgettes, and some other cucurbits, which need bees for pollination.

Pollinators also play an important role in seed production for crops like carrots, onions, brassicas, and more. These crops might not require pollination to produce the part we eat, but they do need it to reproduce.

So yes, bees and other pollinators are important for dietary diversity, economic value, and crop quality. But they are not the cornerstone of global food security.

Let’s Be Precise — Especially in Europe’s Seed Sector

As someone working in and with the European seed sector, I think we owe it to ourselves and our industry to speak clearly. When we repeat oversimplified narratives, we muddy the waters — and risk directing conservation and policy efforts toward the wrong targets.

In my previous article, Stop! We’re Saving the Wrong Bees, I emphasized the need to focus not on honeybees, but on wild and specialist pollinators. These are the species truly responsible for pollinating many of the crops we rely on for seed and nutrition. And yet, they’re often pushed out or overlooked in favour of managed honeybee hives, which in some contexts can even compete with wild species for floral resources, with negative consequences for the wild species.

Time for Better Messaging

Let me be clear: I strongly support pollinator conservation and have made many different pollinator hotels myself (over 30 by now). Such conservation is vital for ecosystem health and agricultural sustainability. But we have to stop repeating the 75% myth as if it defines our food system. It doesn’t.

Let’s protect bees — but let’s also understand which bees, and which crops. Let’s make policy and investment decisions based on biology, not slogans. And above all, let’s stop saying that without pollinators, we’d starve.

We wouldn’t. But we might miss out on some of our summer fruit and our favourite chocolate bar. And our morning coffee might be a bit more expensive. And that is all undesirable — but it’s a different story. One we can tell honestly — and still make the case for action.

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