Bat Epidemic Could Lead to Higher Grocery Bills

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 5th 2011 @ 4:00PM

Brown Bat Photo: Alamy

With the vampire craze currently sweeping Hollywood, you'd think bats would be getting a little more attention these days. The flying creatures of the night are in trouble -- and it could cause food costs to go way up, reports Fast Company.

Bats hunt insects, and their eating habits are a major boon for both organic and traditional farmers. Reuters estimates that bats' total value to agriculture is $22.9 billion annually. The little brown bat, Montana's most common bat species, eats about 1,200 insects per hour and in one 2006 study, bats in South-Central Texas were shown to have an annual pest control value of over $740,000 (29% of the value of the area's cotton crop), according to Fast Company.

They also pollinate crops -- papayas, mangos, and figs all benefit from our furry flying friends. But a deadly fungal infection --something called white-nose syndrome -- has put the U.S. bat population in jeopardy. According to Reuters, more than one million bats have died since the syndrome was discovered in 2006. But researchers aren't sure that it's simply white-nose syndrome that's to blame, since European bats with the same syndrome don't usually die.

Conservation groups and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service are on the case, but consumers should also be following the news closely. If we loose our bats, it's going to be a lot harder -- and more expensive -- to farm. And that means higher prices at the market.

Filed Under: Farming, Food News
Tags: bat epidemic, bats, organic farming

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-05-2011 @4:46PM bob said... It would be terrible if we "loose" our bats.
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4-06-2011 @9:49AM Numb said... I love seeing how far Slashfood's quality-control has gotten.... /sarcasm.

I miss the Slashfood of a few years back... Melissa, Ellen, where are you?