Mime-Version: |
1.0 |
Sender: |
|
Subject: |
|
From: |
|
Date: |
Fri, 13 Oct 2006 14:06:13 -0400 |
Content-Transfer-Encoding: |
8bit |
Content-Type: |
text/plain; charset="windows-1252" |
Reply-To: |
|
Parts/Attachments: |
|
|
I have been following the discussion on almond pollination and current
trends in our industry. There seems to be a general consensus that
regulations are bad and beekeepers should be free to operate as they see
fit.
There is an analogous debate going on in B.C. over fish farms. The B.C.
government is letting people set up "fish farms" along our coast. These
involve nets full of fish which the fish farmer supplies with food.
Research has shown that these farms produce great clouds of a parasitic
sea lice that infect and kill up to 95% of passing wild salmon. So
although fish farms are boosting our economy, they are killing off wild
salmon. For this reason the Alaskan government (the darned communists)
have banned fish farms. I give this example to show that there is at least
one North American jurisdiction that doesn't have complete faith in the
free market system.
Currently in North America we have hundreds of beekeepers who make a
living from honeybees without moving their hives. But we can see from
recent posts on bee-l that the industry profile is moving towards large
migratory operations. Some think we could improve the industry even more
by allowing the free movement of beehives from souther Mexico to northern
Canada and back. If this happens I believe it will squeeze out most 'stay-
at-home' operations. They will have no pollination income and will not
make a honey crop when someone drops 5000 hives in their area. I can buy
some of the arguments (like you won't see the wife for six months at a
time) that this is progress but for the fact that we will have gone from
an industry that burns relatively little fossil fuel to one that burns a
lot. Honeybees need a clean environment to thrive and this new beekeeping
industry will have seriously increased the pollution of our planet by
constantly transporting hives all over the continent. So why are
beekeepers happily embracing this future for beekeeping? To please the
almond growers? To prove we're not communists? Oh ya, I remember, to make
more money before we die. I keep forgetting how important that is.
Keep on truckin,
Ted
Thinking: Some of you may be using bad smoker fuel.
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---
|
|
|