growing, as in allotments and gardens, ornamental flower production, or the UK’s multi-million-pound seed-producing business. It also doesn’t include the value added to the wider supply chains of companies like Thatchers. Add to that the contribution that wild flowers and insect-pollinated trees make to our quality of life, and it’s bigger still.
While it is unlikely that we’ll imminently see a total collapse in the services provided by pollinators, several studies have demonstrated that when they become locally depleted, reduced crop yield and quality can result. Should they all be eliminated, Breeze (who calculated that £430 million figure) says it would cost around £1.8 billion to replace insect pollinators in the UK.