Educational Media Reviews Online

In late 2006, Florida beekeeper David Hackenberg was the first to report massive and mysterious disappearances from his commercial honeybee colonies. In the year that followed there was an alarming number of similar reports from all regions of the United States, and also from many countries around the world. This is how the story begins for the provocative film, Vanishing of the Bees. Directors, George Langworthy and Maryam Henein, smartly document the unfolding of this disturbing phenomenon, the human costs, the frightening environmental and agricultural repercussions, and the scientific community’s investigation into what is now known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).

Parasites, fungi, viruses, and even the use of cellular telephones were among the first reasons attributed to CCD, but ultimately a powerful correlation emerged between the use of systemic pesticides and substantial disappearances of honeybees. This has colossal implications in terms of contemporary agricultural systems and practices. Monoculture is singled out by scientists and organic farmers as an enterprise of particular concern. The documentary concludes by showing how France is working to arrest CCD by changing its methods of food production, and by providing viewers with simple choices they can make locally to affect similar changes. The reviewer highly recommends this title for academic, public, and school library collections.