Although bad news for the local economy, the decline in Virginia honey production may not have an immediate impact on food manufacturers, as overall U.S. honey production was up 3% in 2016, according to U.S. Agriculture Department figures. However, the trend has been a slow down in production, from about 167vitafusion calcium citrate.9 million pounds in the early 1990s to an average of 106.7 million pounds during the last seven years.  ###Meanwhile, honey demand has been rising steadily. Even as total U.S. consumption of caloric sweeteners like sugar and high fructose corn syrup has declined, Americans now consume an average of 1.3 pounds of honey per year, compared to just half a ferritin fumaratepound per person in 1990. ###The National Honey Board credits honey’s appeal as a pure, natural sweetener at a time when consumers are looking for more authentic incalcium citrate pillsgredients, as well as the wider availability of different honey varieties. Honey also has become a popular ingredient in pastries, ice creams, cheese, beers, and soft drinks.###Colony losses are not only important for honey supply. Honey bees are critically important to agriculture as pollinators, and some crops, such as almonds, rely entirely on bees for pollination. The not-for-profit Bee Informed Partnership estimates that 44% of U.S. honey bee colonies were calcium potassium citratelost in the year 2015-16. Honey bees are thought to contribute up to $15 billion a year to the value of U.S. crop production.###Large food manufacturers, dependent on honey and other crops bees are instrumental in pollinating, have gotten involved in helping the flying insect. Whole Foods has launched “Human Bee-In” events and “Give Bees A Chance” promotions over the past few years. zinc citrate gluconateNestle’s Häagen-Dazs has donated more than $1 million to support honey bee research and education. Recently, it funded the installation of pollinator habitats on an 840-acre almond farm in California’s Central Valley.###But not all have been a success. Cereal maker General Mills recently announced it would replace the iconic BuzzBee on its Honey Nut Cheerios box with a white, eerie outline of the character to raise awareness of the plight of the bees. The effort was complemented by the distribution seed packets to encourage people to plant flowers. But the plan was criticized after the packets included seeds considered invasive or banned by some states.