From: randy oliver <[log in to unmask]>

>Jerry is proud of this decision, as it puts him in a position to work
positively in the best interest of bees and beekeeping in a major
agribusiness.

I've only really met Jerry once, but of course have read his classroom column (his answer to Dave Mendes on how to make a pollen sub was the beginning of our interest in bee associated microbes).  I have nothing bad to say about Jerry.

...but, I've got to disagree with the sunshine and rainbow assessment you make above.  If someone came to work for you and said, "I'm glad you hired me, because it puts me in a position to work positively in the best interest of bees and beekeeping in a commercial beekeeping operation."  Well, fine...as long as they are going to do the job you are paying them to do...help you manage your bees the way you think they ought to be managed.

What if they are a member of "the beekeeping taliban"?  ...thinking frames, treatments, feeds, and smoke work _against_ the best interests of bees and beekeeping?  Would you really tolerate someone being an activist, against your perceived interests, on your dime?  "informing" visitors, customers, suppliers, etc that things should be done differently than you are doing them?  Write letters to the editor that start with, "I work for Randy Oliver, but I think his management practice is cruel and short sighted"?

To say that Jerry is in a position to work positively in the best interest of bees and beekeeping is BS.,..he is being paid to do a job for Monsanto.  I don't say this is a bad thing, and I don't say that it shows any lack of integrity (it doesn't), but no one in such a position has a free hand to use their position for their own agenda....it is all about the bottom line of the corporation...to act in any other way is essentially a breach of fiduciary responsibility (if he is a key employee...given that he is their "bee guy", I would consider him such)...and illegal.

Here is a quote from the Monsanto Code of Conduct (from Monsanto's own website):
http://www.monsanto.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/Code-of-Business-Conduct-PDFs/code_of_conduct_english.pdf

"A conflict of interest arises when we put our personal, social, financial, or political interests before the interests of the Company.  Conflicts of interest are to be avoided because besides causing legal concerns, they can provide an appearance that Monsanto does not play fair in how it does business, that we don't follow the high standards of business ethics that we espouse."

For Jerry to be a "man on the inside representing our interests" would be a conflict of interest.  Certainly he will bring his knowledge, experience, and opinions to the job..but something good for Monsanto trumps something good for beekeepers....this isn't my opinion, this is the law.

As far as Monsanto recognizing the importance of beekeeping, I would ask you to think about how important bees are for the new self pollinating soy beans (developed by Monsanto), and knowing how important almonds are to beekeeping, consider what the ARS's efforts to develop a self pollinating almond are likely to lead to.

>I hear second hand that Monsanto realizes that bees are an important part of agriculture and is interested in promoting their health.

...and Bayer is still telling us that Checkmite+ is good for our bees:
http://www.animalhealth.bayerhealthcare.com/3424.0.html
....I expect that Monsanto is mostly interested in selling the products it has on the market, and creating a demand for the products they will have on the market tomorrow.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favor of business.  When dealing with large corporations it is easy to determine their motivation (not always as easy with an individual or a small business)....it's all about the bottom line.  It has to be.  It is the law.  I don't think it is smart (or reasonable) to work from any other assumption.

deknow

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