Metro Propolis <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> "Sustainable" is a yardstick that comes in different lengths depending
> upon where you shop.
>
>
The natural beekeeping movement is a beast with many heads, not all looking
in the same direction. Most all of us are hobbyists, and sustainability for
a hobby means, it's good as long as your enjoyment of it doesn't cause you
to lose your house. Or marriage..

The technology issue is not as well defined. A wooden box to keep bees in
is a technological human invention, but seems to be well accepted even by
the most "natural" of beekeepers.


>
> (Curiously I suggest that many "natural beekeepers" would give plastic
> small-cell frames a pass as sustainable, conveniently overlooking their
> manufactured origins)
>
>
For many of us, the idea of "natural"beekeeping has been reinterpreted as
"treatment-free":
the best way I heardthis analyzed is to consider the hive as a food
container. You would
question the edibility of some of the chemicals used commonly in apiaries,
but almost everyone in the US has some amount of plastic in their kitchen.
That is why the food-grade plastic frames have been widely accepted, even
in this community.

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html