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    Back to Good Food

    Good Food

    Hive heists and stolen honeybees

    Conjure up an image of a burglar. The last thing you'd probably imagine is a man in a white beekeeper suit and netted headgear, tiptoeing across a field in the dead of night. But beehives are a hot commodity these days and hive theft has become a serious issue for California almond farmers.

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    By Evan Kleiman • Jul 22, 2016 • 1 min read

    Conjure up an image of a burglar. The last thing you'd probably imagine is a man in a white beekeeper suit and netted headgear, tiptoeing across a field in the dead of night. But beehives are a hot commodity these days and hive theft has become a serious issue for California almond farmers. More than 80 percent of the planet's almonds come from California groves and the bees are a necessary tool used to pollinate 800,000 acres of trees. Jodi Helmer is a North Carolina beekeeper and is covering the hive heist for NPR's The Salt blog.

    Music: "Bus Stop Boxers" by The Eels

    The full episode

    2 of 6
    Hive heists, artisanal food, local grains & bulgogi, Gangnam-style
    1. 0:30Finding the flavors we lost
    2. 15:24Hive heists and stolen honeybeesYou’re reading this
    3. 23:12The art of picking the perfect watermelon
    4. 30:37The New Bread Basket
    5. 41:36Grist & Toll
    6. 52:07Bulgogi, Gangnam-style
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Evan Kleiman

      host 'Good Food'

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Laryl Garcia

      Senior Director, Good Food

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Abbie Fentress Swanson

      Independent reporter and producer

    • KCRW placeholder

      Camellia Tse

      Producer, Good Food

      CultureFood & Drink

    The full episode

    2 of 6
    Hive heists, artisanal food, local grains & bulgogi, Gangnam-style
    1. 0:30Finding the flavors we lost
    2. 15:24Hive heists and stolen honeybeesYou’re reading this
    3. 23:12The art of picking the perfect watermelon
    4. 30:37The New Bread Basket
    5. 41:36Grist & Toll
    6. 52:07Bulgogi, Gangnam-style
    Back to Good Food