Hi tejek; Re: "And I stand by what the Dept of Ag says: In fact, about one-third of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants, and the honeybee is responsible for 80 percent of that pollination, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture."
Good. So you are a dumb-ass *and* have memory problems. Let's be clear about this. You know what to believe because the Dept of Ag tells you so. I know what to believe because I look at the evidence.
I do not believe what the government tells me. You're a believer. And you think you're being scientific, LOL. All the peer reviewed literature I showed you didn't make a dent. This despite the fact that you haven't found a single peer reviewed article that estimates the importance of bee pollination to world agriculture. I didn't sift the literature, rejecting articles that showed your point. This isn't like global warming. THERE ARE NO PEER REVIEWED ARTICLES THAT ESTIMATE BEE POLLINATION RATES THAT GIVE AN 80% NUMBER. THEY JUST DON'T EXIST. IT'S A FANTASY.
You're the perfect prole for 1984. When the government reverses itself and tells you the opposite, you won't have any problem reversing on a dime.
The basic fact is that almonds are the crop that is most sensitive to inadequate numbers of honeybees. The media has been going on for years about the crisis in honeybees. And yet almonds are not at all time high prices! I'm saying that there is a fundamental disconnect between the following facts:
(1) The health of honeybees is critical to food production.
(2) Honeybees are unhealthy due to "colony collapse disorder".
(3) Honeybees are especially critical to the pollination of almonds.
(4) Almond prices are down from 10 years ago.
I show these facts to you. You have no comment about them. You're disconnected from reality.
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Hey, I know, let's go look and see what the beekeepers are saying about the bee market.
Here's typical news. There's been no price increase for pollination in two years. And the orange honey crop is a bust because there were too many bees, too enough flowers. But you're still a big believer in the bee shortage, LOL:
2012 Pollination Prices
Our 2012 prices will be the same as 2011 (and 2010)
Orange Honey Crop a Bust
Half or more of the 700,000+ bee colonies in San Joaquin Valley almond orchards in February are placed in east-side citrus locations in April. Beekeepers expect to make $50/colony worth of orange honey and for many Valley-based beekeepers this is the only honey income they will get all year. This year, the orange honey crop was a bust for two reasons: less nectar in fewer blossoms and over-crowding of locations. Just as cattle will over-graze limited pasture, increasing numbers of bee colonies on a limited acreage of citrus is harmful to bees. This year, some beekeepers spent $25 to $30/colony feeding sugar syrup to their bees during orange bloom, an unheard of situation.
The conversion of thousands of acres of Navel and Valencia oranges to “seedless” mandarins has exacerbated the situation since mandarin growers either net their trees or don’t allow bees within a mile of their groves. Bee colonies in the citrus belt are being crowded into smaller and smaller areas (refugee camps?) to the detriment of bees and beekeepers (and almond growers).
beesource.com
You're basically a moron who believes every bit of crap put out by government. I mean really, go do some of your own research.
Here's a topic for you: With the bee shortage, how much has the cost of establishing a new bee hive increased? Surely with bees dying left and right, the price of queens has gone up! Now, go find prices for the 1980s and compare them with today's prices, adjusted for inflation. You're gonna get another big surprise.
-- Carl |
