this post was submitted on 12 Oct 2025
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[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 100 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (12 children)

Ok but,

Cows don't require bees. The food that cows eat (wheat, grass, soy) either pollinates by wind or spreads by root. Soybean benefits, but doesn't rely on, insect pollination. Alfalfa is pollinated by bees, as are most forms of clover.

Cocoa trees are pollinated by midges, not bees. And the rest of the shake comes from the above mentioned cows.

Lettuce also self-pollinates, though again insects help. Commercially, they're not really used.

Tomatoes are commercially pollinated by shaking them, because commercial tomatoes are optimized for making food and are pretty shit at being plants.

Potatoes are basically the only major ingredient that is pollinated by bees. But that's basically never used by anyone growing potatoes, since potatoes also spread asexually by tubers.

Stuff in this pic that IS pollinated by bees: the sugar beets that are potentially in everything (edit: nope, that's wrong) but not the corn you can also use for sugar. Cucumber for the pickles. Some oil plants to fry in. Coconut or almond if you don't want cow milk. Sesame seeds on the bun.

[–] Ephera@lemmy.ml 25 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Cocoa trees are pollinated by midges

Misread that as midgets just then...

[–] datavoid@sh.itjust.works 12 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Oompa loompa do ba dee doo

[–] ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago

The bees have no more pollen for you

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 7 points 10 months ago

That's just the Lollipop ~~Guild~~ Union.

[–] Redjard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Sugar beet seeds are produced via wind pollination in dedicated very compact setups. They plant strips of male and female plants with controlled distances.
As far as I can tell no pollinators are involved anywhere in the sugar beet industry.

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 6 points 10 months ago

Huh I remembered wrong. Thanks for the correction

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[–] 30p87@feddit.org 21 points 10 months ago

Actually, it's not unlikely that everything would be gone, as the human species would be gone, or in extreme trouble.

[–] marcos@lemmy.world 13 points 10 months ago (3 children)

I'm confused. Why cows would get extinct, but the chicken eggs for the bread will still exist?

[–] nervousnerd@lemmy.world 26 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Umm most white bread does not usually contain eggs; usually flour, water, yeast, oil, and salt. Wheat is apparently self pollinating.

[–] yakko@feddit.uk 7 points 10 months ago

The standard burger bun is brioche (not very nice brioche, granted, but they still call it that)

[–] marcos@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

If it has a yellow outside (like the one on the photo), it has eggs.

Also, that "oil" is bee pollinated too.

[–] BC_viper@lemmy.world 12 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Bees no longer pollinating the cows food? I'm assuming they think cows eat only things that are pollinated, and not grass which is propagated by roots.

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 6 points 10 months ago

The only cow food I know that needs insect is clover and alfalfa. Grass, wheat and even soybeans do OK without.

[–] MarxWuzRight@lemmy.world 12 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Doesn't wheat used for the bun also need bees?

[–] general_kitten@sopuli.xyz 12 points 10 months ago

i think wheat is wind pollinated and therefore not reliant on bees

[–] The_v@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

Wheat is mostly self-pollinating with very little outcrossing due to wind.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 6 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Milkshake and cheese burger gone; bun left on plate

Bees make milk? Beef? Cheese? 🤔

afaik bees don't pollinate grasses that cows eat.

Fuck I don't even believe the potatoes would be affected. Those things will grow entirely on their own. They don't even need water or dirt!

[–] The_v@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

Dairy cows eat more than grass species. They need a higher protein potion of their ration. This is usually fulfilled by alfalfa, clover, canola seed meal, etc which are mostly bee pollinated.

French fries are fried in vegetable oils like flaxseed or canola. Both are bee pollinated.

[–] InvalidName2@lemmy.zip 6 points 10 months ago

So, I'm not saying this is absolutely incorrect, the point is that our food production is heavily reliant on bees which I'm fully in agreement with, but I'm a bit at a loss at how inaccurate this photo is.

The good news is, I was expecting a thread full of comments falling for this misinformation hook line and sinker, but I'm seeing some push back on the specifics, which gives me hope.

No, I don't hate bees or hope they go extinct, but I grew up in a rural farming area of the USA and currently live in a rural farming area of the USA, so I'm aware that not everything that's missing on the left is entirely dependent on bees.

[–] Jimmycrackcrack@lemmy.ml 5 points 10 months ago

I actually heard today on a Climate Town video that clover helps grass to grow and it's the absence of it from lawns because of weed killers designed to kill it, that we need fertilizers designed to do the same nitrogen fixing that the clover would have done to keep the grass alive. I wonder if it could be argued that the clover needs the bees and the grass needs the clover and the cows need the grass.

[–] Oisteink@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

You need bees to get potatoes?

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

arnt potatoes propagated by thier tubers. and through flowers/pollination. things like apples, prunus genus needs bees.

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Potatoes do both. Potato seeds are produced from fertilizing potato flowers, and can then grow into new plants.

But they also spread asexually via tubers, which is way more convenient for farming.

[–] The_v@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

Tubers are used because the type we eat are tetraploids. Tetraploids (aka 4 copies of every chromosome) produce very little seeds. Generally less than 1/10th what a diploid version will. In potatoes it can be a low as 1/10,000th.

Using tubers transmits all sorts of nasty diseases from one crop to the next. Seeds do too but not as much.

Diploids are not used commercially because they produce smaller tubers and longer vines.

[–] RodgeGrabTheCat@sh.itjust.works 4 points 10 months ago

I'm so glad that we have bees to pollinate the straw fields.

Also, if wheat can grow without pollination, we would still be able to feed cows.

[–] BC_viper@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Except the bun would also be gone.

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 10 points 10 months ago

Wheat isn't pollinated by insects. It's self-pollinating by wind.

On the other hand, I'm reasonably sure cows also don't require bees to reproduce.

[–] OddMinus1@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

What happened to the plastic straw?

[–] vithigar@lemmy.ca 2 points 10 months ago

It was used to kill the bees.

[–] Hikermick@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

Wish sandwich

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