[Pollinator] This is What Dessert Looks Like without Pollinators

Wed Apr 13 09:03:48 PDT 2016

FROM: BusinessWire

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160413005592/en/Dessert-Pollinators

April 13, 2016 08:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time

*This is What Dessert Looks Like without Pollinators*

*Whole Foods Market, Xerces Society team up to raise awareness of declining
pollinator populations*

[image: Whole Foods Market gives shoppers a startling preview of what
dessert would look like without pollinators. (Photo: Business Wire)]
<http://mms.businesswire.com/media/20160413005592/en/519065/5/Whole_Foods_Market_Bakery_Department_WITHOUT_Pollinators_Phil_Bond_Photography.jpg?download=1>

Whole Foods Market gives shoppers a startling preview of what dessert would
look like without pollinators. (Photo: Business Wire)

   - [image: Life without pollinators would be a lot less sweet. That's the
   message Whole Foods Market and the Xerces Society are delivering this month
   as part of the duo's "share the buzz" campaign to raise awareness around
   the plight of pollinators, and to inspire shoppers to be part of the
   solution. (Photo: Business Wire)]
   <http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160413005592/en/3756569/Dessert-Pollinators>

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE <http://www.businesswire.com/>)--Life
without pollinators would be a lot less sweet. That’s the message Whole
Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFM) and the Xerces Society are delivering this month
as part of the duo’s “share the buzz” campaign to raise awareness around
the plight of pollinators, and to inspire shoppers to be part of the
solution.

“Sweet tooth or not, life without dessert would be tough to swallow”

One in every three bites of food comes from plants that depend on
pollinators, and with pollinator populations declining at alarming rates,
the availability of ingredients in many of the baked goods people enjoy
every day is being threatened.

To showcase the vital role pollinators play in the global food supply,
Whole Foods Market’s Fremont, California, store gave shoppers a startling
preview of what their bakery choices would be if pollinators vanished. The
before-and-after photos are disturbing - as are the findings:

   - 97 percent of the dessert choices featured in the bakery department
   would either disappear or would be significantly altered; only 32 of 1,057
   items remained in their original form.*
   - With key ingredients such as chocolate, coffee, almonds, berries,
   carrots and even vanilla relying on pollinators for production, hundreds of
   desserts - from specialty treats like macaroons and tiramisu to everyday
   favorites like chocolate chip cookies - would be history.
   - Dairy-based dessert options would be scarce. Pollinators are vital to
   crops that feed cattle, including alfalfa; without them, there’d be no more
   cheesecakes, crème brulee, thickly iced cakes, puddings, creamy tarts or
   éclair fillings. Even the most basic choices like plain white cupcakes that
   require dairy ingredients would be limited.

“Sweet tooth or not, life without dessert would be tough to swallow,” said
Eric Mader, pollinator program co-director for The Xerces Society. “But
with one-third of the world’s food crops depending on disappearing
pollinator species, that may one day be a reality. The good news: it’s not
too late. With support from Whole Foods Market and its shoppers and
suppliers, our organization is working with farmers nationwide to help them
create wildflower habitat and to adopt less pesticide-intensive practices,
which will help pollinators thrive.”

With shoppers’ support, Whole Foods Market and its suppliers have donated
more than $547,000 to the Xerces Society since 2012. These funds have
helped create or improve more than 186,000 acres of pollinator habitat in
the U.S., with tens of thousands more acres in development.

“This campaign is all about inspiring people to take small steps that make
a big difference for these small heroes of our food supply,” said Lee Kane,
mission and culture coach for Whole Foods Market. “Even simple strategies
like shopping organic or planting native wildflowers can tip the balance
back in favor of our pollinators.”

Find product information, kid-friendly educational activities, videos
spotlighting lesser-known pollinators like moths
<http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DcaSRAz9Ubvc&esheet=51319038&newsitemid=20160413005592&lan=en-US&anchor=moths&index=4&md5=19ab1fd5bc90035b332988d90f41eb69>
,butterflies
<http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DUSTdyp4PpgI&esheet=51319038&newsitemid=20160413005592&lan=en-US&anchor=butterflies&index=5&md5=b9e11b6e0c53daecc625fc128da3cc64>
, fireflies
<http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D_bu9aWPFRG8&esheet=51319038&newsitemid=20160413005592&lan=en-US&anchor=fireflies&index=6&md5=07dd898f4bcab913f6f124da111e1687>
 and hummingbirds
<http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DqNfg9LUlW-I&esheet=51319038&newsitemid=20160413005592&lan=en-US&anchor=hummingbirds&index=7&md5=9547a2a1a3012b8fccee21397d590466>,
and more at: wfm.com/pollinators
<http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wfm.com%2Fpollinators&esheet=51319038&newsitemid=20160413005592&lan=en-US&anchor=wfm.com%2Fpollinators&index=8&md5=9ddd51c410ea808466fd9613d7da032f>
.

****The only dessert items that remained unaltered were soy-based vegan
“cheesecake” and coconut macaroons. Vegan oatmeal raisin cookies, vegan
peanut butter cookies, plain mini cheesecakes, angel food cake, vegan white
cake and lemon sticky toffee pudding also remained, but in very limited
quantities or with recipe alterations.*

________

*Matthew Shepherd*

Communications Director

*[image: Xerces-logo-CMYK-email_Outlook]*

*Protecting the Life that Sustains Us*

Stay in touch:     *xerces.org <http://www.xerces.org/>*      *Xerces blog
<http://www.xerces.org/blog/>*      *E-newsletter
<http://www.xerces.org/enewsletters/>*      *Facebook
<http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Xerces-Society/193182577358618>*
  *Twitter
<https://twitter.com/xerces_society>*

628 NE Broadway, Ste 200, Portland, OR 97232-1324, USA

Tel: (503) 232-6639 ext. 110; Toll free: 1-855-232 6639 ext. 110; Cell:
(503) 807-1577

matthew.shepherd at xerces.org
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