Hi Paul,

I read the link you provided but do not share your view that it is a fair and unbiased piece of reporting.

The author, Jon Entine, takes issue with the opening sentence in “an otherwise excellent article” published in The Scientist. The sentence of concern is,
 
“Populations of honeybees have crashed in recent years, and many researchers have pointed the blame at a class of widely used insecticides called neonicotinoids.”

Mr. Entine begins his explanation of how everything is okey dokey in the beekeeping industry by mentioning that “...honeybees, ... are actually not even native to North America, Europe or Australia,....”  His implication here seems to be that even if things aren’t okey dokey in the beehive, honey bees were never here in the first place so it wouldn’t be a problem if they disappeared.

Entine then goes on to inform us that the beekeeping industry faces many new challenges but is able to rebound from increased losses through hard work and higher prices. In fact, “high prices are the solution to their own problem.” If I understand him correctly, Mr. Entine is arguing that market forces will triumph over any and all problems in our natural environment.

Apparently Mr. Entine hasn’t heard of the pine beetle here in British Columbia. Market forces told this little beetle to stop killing pine trees whereupon the beetle killed virtually all of them.

I think it is fair to say that in the last forty years it has become increasingly difficult to keep beehives alive and thriving. It could be argued that market forces are largely responsible for these problems.

The beekeeping industry is now in a fragile state. In my opinion, articles like Mr. Entine’s aren’t helping find solutions to our many problems. 

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