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Health

Shortage of pollinators could be killing 427,000 people a year

Inadequate numbers of bees and other pollinators have a huge impact on human health due to lower production of fruit and vegetables, according to a modelling study

By Gary Hartley

21 December 2022

Bee on a rape flower

Many important crops rely on bees for pollination

Daniel Olbrich/Moment RF/Getty Images

Insufficient pollination of crops poses a human health risk equivalent to prominent health conditions, threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.

Three-quarters of agricultural crop varieties are pollinated by animals, such as insects, birds and bats. Many populations of key pollinators like bees are in decline and their loss results in lower production of fruit and vegetables.

Matthew Smith at Harvard University and his colleagues used data on pollinators, 63 pollinator-dependent crops, international trade, diet and chronic diseases to …

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