Subject: | |
From: | |
Reply To: | |
Date: | Sat, 2 Mar 2019 13:02:24 -0500 |
Content-Type: | text/plain |
Parts/Attachments: |
|
|
Me: Almonds Did For Beekeeping What Cocaine Did For Miami.
Aaron: I'm not sure I know what this means?
Peter: there simply was no need to invoke a comparison to illegal drug
trade. That was plainly a taunt.
Sorry, busy traveling, only read the above today.
Of course it was not a "taunt" - it was an accurate summation from someone
who both lived aboard a sailboat in Ft Lauderdale during the heyday of disco
and drugs, and later took up commercial pollination beekeeping for several
decades.
The comparison to the impact of the illegal drug trade on Miami is very apt,
as the money associated with the drug trade was impossible to resist or
avoid, even for legitimate businesspeople. Before the tightened disclosure
and forfeiture statutes, it was legal to be paid in cash, even if one knew
full well that the money was from drug dealing. "Money laundering" wasn't a
crime at all. Ethical lapses were nearly universal.
The impact of so much money from a single source on beekeeping means that
beekeepers do many unusual things to and with their bees, some do
unethical/inhumane things for profit, and some are even tempted to steal
hives. If not for the almonds, there would not be people trucking bees
across the entire country, hives would not be pushed to expand in February,
diseases and pests would not have spread nationwide so quickly, economies of
scale would not favor massive diesel-fueled migratory operations, nor would
hive theft be an issue. These are simple statements about outcomes and
unintended consequences, not a "taunt".
***********************************************
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
|
|
|