Ted Hancock <[log in to unmask]>, Thu, 27 Sep 2007 14:48:42 -0400 writes: 

“Steve seems to be suggesting (forgive me if I'm wrong Steve) that 
commercial beekeeping does not need any rules or regulations, that it is 
best to let market forces determine which beekeepers will live and die.”

   You are wrong, Ted, and I forgive you.  It’s not that I am against 
regulation per se.  I just don’t see it coming to our rescue any time 
soon.  No one seems to be able to agree on what the problem is, and there 
are conflicting interests in the beekeeping industry that make settling on 
what to do about anything pretty difficult.  Also, even though I have my 
doubts about the wisdom of large scale migratory beekeeping and modern 
monoculture agriculture in general, I don’t think the case has been made 
yet that doing away with migratory beekeeping, or banning imports from 
Australia will make life a lot easier for the rest of us, your particular 
case being the obvious exception.  That leaves the market and its effect on 
good and bad beekeeping practices.  I am saying that those effects will be 
shown to be pretty direct when it comes to beekeeping.  Not perfectly 
direct, but more direct maybe than we have yet realized.  At a certain 
point, a point that may already have been reached, the cost of making some 
of these more bizarre practices work will be too high.  Emotional tirades, 
therefore, may prove to be as unnecessary as they are ineffective at 
getting people to see the light.   I hope that clarifies my view of the 
situation a little.

Steve Noble     
     
   
    
    
 

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