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Re: [ocba] NC legislature considering "pollinator protection" bill
- From: Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com>
- To: ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
- Subject: Re: [ocba] NC legislature considering "pollinator protection" bill
- Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2017 09:20:11 -0400
Hey Doug, Thanks for sharing. FYI, any mention of "colony collapse
disorder" as a threat to beekeeping is a big red flag that the
authors of the bill/article/bumper sticker don't really know what
they are talking about and are trying to feed off of populist
hysteria rather than agricultural science. Honey bees have been
co-opted by the anti-pesticide agenda but they are actually a very
ill-fitting poster child for their cause. The article <here>
and the papers linked within it explain how the message being fed
to the general public is quite different than the actual facts
regarding the state of American honey bee colonies. Short version:
honey bees are agricultural livestock, not wildlife, and the
inventory of honey bee colonies is determined by supply and demand
in the marketplace, not by environmental factors. This is exactly
the same way that the inventory of chickens, cows and llamas don't
depend on habitat destruction or pesticide use, but instead on
whether people want to buy chicken, cow and llama products. And
colony numbers are way UP over the past 20 years (because
of higher honey prices and almond pollination rates) -- honey bees
are not on the verge of extinction. I strongly suggest that those who are truly concerned about
systemic pesticides with respect to honey bee health do some
fact-based research about their mode of action and rapid dilution
of concentration once the plant begins to grow. The truth of the
matter is that systemics are much safer for the applicators,
environment and off-target species than conventional pesticides,
and far less product needs to be applied. Name your
poison... many activists will settle for nothing short of "none";
I'll take the one that is "better". I don't fault anyone else for
their differing opinions but everyone needs to make their case
with facts, not half-truths, lies or empty rhetoric. Please note: If anyone wants to call me a bee-hater or, worse, a
people-lover (yes, I've been accused of that, as if it were a bad
thing), please do so directly to me off-list and not via the OCBA
listserv. NC Master Beekeeper NC Certified Private Pesticide Applicator On 3/15/2017 8:30 PM, Doug Edmunds
wrote:
CABu4JpMn7uLBwKHA01YThgpg_PKk_u31LJNsLY3G98hASSrxPw AT mail.gmail.com" type="cite"> |
-
[ocba] NC legislature considering "pollinator protection" bill,
Doug Edmunds, 03/15/2017
- Re: [ocba] NC legislature considering "pollinator protection" bill, Randall Austin, 03/16/2017
- <Possible follow-up(s)>
- Re: [ocba] NC legislature considering "pollinator protection" bill, Doug Edmunds, 03/16/2017
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