Last week the EU voted – narrowly – to ban the use of some of the neonicotinoid pesticides that are alleged to be part of the cause of colony collapse in the world population of bees and other pollinators. In the vote to ban the substances, the UK government voted "no" and the Irish government abstained.
In a special report from the Ballymaloe Lit Fest, we asked food writers, chefs and producers: are we doing enough to protect the bees?
Featuring Matthew Fort, Claudia Roden, Stephanie Alexander, Ben Reade, Sandor Katz, Madeleine McKeever, Rachel Allen, Michael Kelly, Joe Prendergast, Donal Skehan, Ivan Whelan, Nick Lander, Claus Meyer, Birgitta Curtin, Alys Fowler and Joanna Blythman.