Bee pollen is actually flower pollen that has been collected by bees for their own nourishment. It is harvested by encouraging bees to drop a small portion of the pollen they collect. However, there is plenty left for them to feed their entire hive.
While gathering pollen, honey bees also pollinate flowers and crops – a crucial function for the proliferation of fruits, nuts and a wide variety of food crops. Buying organic, sustainably harvested pollen helps beekeepers remain in business, supporting their expansion of honey bee hives and pollination operations. Due to the widespread use of neonicotinoid agricultural chemicals, almost a third of the entire bee population of the US has disappeared in the last decade. Commercial demand for bee pollen helps provide funding for the care and expansion of these all-important pollinators, without which we would all starve.