Dean writes:
> If that’s a “treatment”, so be it.

You so glibly dismiss the distinction. What I have been trying to get at is the idea that whether to regard such and such as a treatment is all in the eye of the beholder. To a malnourished individual, the proper "treatment" is a decent meal, something the rest of us have every day. To the obese, withdrawing of food may be the correct treatment, or not -- depending on the actual disorder. A particular symptom can definitely have a wide variety of causes, some treatable and some not. 

From a strictly Buddhist point of view, everything we do is bound to be wrong, since it's based upon wrong motivation. However, there is also the concept of right action, which is based upon correct motivation. Placing motives such as profit, power, etc. above consideration for others, compassion, etc., destroys the value of what we do. If I feed antibiotics to healthy animals to try to increase productivity, risking antibiotic resistance in my livestock as well as my customers, I am doing something wrong. 

Self defense mechanisms, however, are present in all organisms and toxins happen to be ubiquitous, especially among microbial communities, but even in mammals these occur ( see "A Poisonous Surprise Under the Coat of the African Crested Rat," Jonathan Kingdon and Fritz Vollrath). Another defense against predation is to have large numbers of offspring. These increase the family unit size, which is a defense, and create better chances for the survival of the next generation. Yet, as we know, having too many offspring can be a fatal disorder, as in population explosion.

In regard to beekeeping, I try to promote the understanding of all the factors, so that each individual can make an informed choice. In many cases, the choice will be to do nothing, to not intervene. At other times, one may employ any or every weapon in the arsenal. Assuming one has an arsenal. (This means: don't wait till the last minute to order miticides, they may be out of stock).

Pete

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