Woolworths strips shelves of fruit, vegetables and pantry items due to bee shortage

Woolworths shelves are stripped clean of fruit, vegetables and pantry items – but it has NOTHING to do with panic-buying

  • Woolworths in Neutral Bay stripped shelves of fruit, vegetables and pantry items
  • They wanted to show what stores would look like with the loss of bee population
  • 65% horticultural and agricultural crops require honey bees in order to pollinate 
  • Disastrous bushfires, floods and droughts recently affected Australia’s produce

Woolworths has taken the extraordinary step of stripping its shelves of vegetables, fruit and pantry items to show what supermarkets would look like if bees became extinct. 

The supermarket giant’s store in Neutral Bay in Sydney’s lower north shore this week removed all products that rely on pollination to show the importance of bees and other insects when it comes to Australia’s food supply.

Without them fruits and vegetables including avocado, apples, cucumbers, pumpkins, rockmelons, blueberries, zucchini, macadamias, kiwi fruit would become scarce, Woolworths says.  

The same goes for pantry staples like coffee beans, muesli, cereal, almonds, fruit juices, fruit based jams, canola oil and sunflower seeds.  

Woolworths stripped shelves of pantry items to show what the store would like like without the bee population

The supermarket giant’s store in Neutral Bay in Sydney’s lower north shore this week removed all products that rely on pollination to show the importance of bees and other insects when it comes to Australia’s food supply 

Some 65 per cent of Australian horticultural and agricultural crops require honey bees in order to pollinate, amounting to more than $14 billion of food each year. 

‘As the Fresh Food People, we’re passionate about providing millions of Australians access to the fresh food they love most,’ Woolworths Chief Marketing Officer Andrew Hicks said.

‘What many people don’t realise is how much of our food supply relies directly on pollinating bees.  

‘Our goal here is to start a conversation in Australian homes about what a supermarket without bees would look like and how their impact goes far beyond just fruit and vegetables. 

‘However, if we take small actions to support bees and pollination today, we can create a better tomorrow and prevent this from becoming a reality.’

Two customers walk past empty fruit and vegetable aisles as Woolworths

Two customers walk past empty fruit and vegetable aisles as Woolworths

Everyday pantry items would also be affected by the bees and lack of pollination 

Woolworths wants to bring attention to the importance of bees and pollination to Ausrtalia’s food supply 

The initiative coincides with the supermarket’s Discovery Garden, where 21 of the 24 seedlings attract bees and encourage pollination. 

Chair of the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council Trevor Weatherhead said the country’s agriculture and crops are still at risk due to bushfires, droughts and floods.

‘It is vital for both honey production and pollination of our Australian agriculture and food crops that bee health is maintained,’ he said. 

‘With the ongoing drought and the impact of the bush fires it is now more critical than ever for beekeepers to have access to national parks and forests to help provide adequate floral resources.

‘We can all play a part in bee health by considering the trees and plants in our own backyards that provide this necessary nectar and pollen for ‘Healthy bees – Healthy people’.’

List of products removed from shelves

Apples 

Apricots

Avocado

Blackberries

Blueberries

Canola Oil

Coffee Beans

Cherries

Cucumbers

Dates Medjool

Dragon fruit

Goji Berries

Guava

Honey

Kiwi

Mangos

Muesli

Nuts (Almonds, Walnuts, Cashews, Macadamia, Peanuts, Pecans) 

Papaya

Passionfruit

Pear

Pepitas

Pineapple

Pitted Prunes

Plums

Pumpkin Butternut

Rock Melon

Sesame Seeds

Spreads (Peanut Butter, Almond Butter and more)

Sprout Alfalfa

Strawberry

Sunflower Seeds

Watermelon

Zucchini

 

   

 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk