Chocolate might melt out of memory if we don't protect pollinators, ecologist warns

Combing the yard for chocolate Easter eggs could one day be a thing of the past if we don't make a concerted effort to protect pollinators, according to a UBC researcher.

It's not just chocolate that's in trouble all fruits and vegetables, even self-pollinating plants, need pollinatorssuch as bees and butterfliesto survive.

"The sad thing is that we think about 25 per cent of the world's species overall are in peril, they're headed ...towardextinction," Claire Kremen, professor at UBC's Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, told On the Coast host Gloria Macarenko.

The main reasonfor this, she said, is habitat lossdue to clear-cutting of forests and urbanization. She also points to pesticides, climate change and light pollution as reasons some insect populations are shrinking.

Fruits, vegetables and other foods we make from plants, including cacao, need to be pollinated.

"Chocolate comes from cacao, which is a tropical plant. To produce cacao, the flowers of the cacao plant have to be visited by a tiny fly," Kremen said.

If that population dies off, and therefore doesn't pollinate the plant, no more chocolate.

"It just goes to show how dependent we are on nature, even for luxuries like that that we take for granted," she said.

Kremensaid 75 per cent of our fruit- and vegetable-producingplants need to be pollinated. Those that are pollinated often producemore fruit, which is larger and often more nutritious.

Even self-pollinating plants like tomatoes produce more, bigger tomatoes, if pollinators visit, she added.

The best thing to do to support pollinators as spring takes holdis plant pollinator-supporting gardens, Kremen said. Pollinator Partnership Canada puts out planting guides for every region in Canada to grow a pollinator-friendly garden.

"Last spring, a lot of people started to plant vegetable gardens," she said."I think it's great people got outside to start their own gardens that's a good thing for pollinators and connecting with nature."

Additionally, supporting local farmers who growpesticide-free or organic produce will ultimately help pollinators.