Monday, January 27, 2014
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Natural or Conventional Debate
Gareth Cotswolds (Simple Bees) gave a down to earth, inspirational speech in UK about Natural vs Conventional Beekeeping. Since beekeeping all over the globe is practiced with the same profit orientated mind I think his speech can be applied internationally also;
"This is the text of the opening statement I gave in support of the motion ‘Natural Beekeeping is the Way Forward for British Beekeepers’ in a debate at Stroud Beekeepers Association in January 2014 to a mixed audience of about 110 conventional and natural beekeepers. About half the audience voted at the end, with the motion being carried by an overwhelming majority.
Good evening
Thank you all for coming.
On behalf of the Natural Beekeeping Trust, I am proposing the motion that ‘Natural Beekeeping is the way forward for British Beekeepers’.
This motion is about change: doing things differently in the future. Today, we see problems for bees right across the world. Many reasons are given for this, but I contend that the mindset of modern beekeepers is part of the problem.
We all want healthy bees. But how do we achieve that? What should our mindset be if we, as beekeepers, want vibrant, healthy bees?
The conventional approach promises health through actions by beekeepers: artificial breeding, suppression of natural reproduction, frequent hive inspections, chemical treatments, increased biosecurity. The list is endless.
In contrast, natural beekeeping sees the solution as lying in actions by the bees. The role of the beekeeper is to help the bee to exist as nature intended, not to force the bee to exist as man thinks she should.
Put another way, conventional beekeepers demand control over nature; natural beekeepers follow a path of trust in nature.
If we lose our trust in something, it is not long before we begin to fear it. It is fear of nature that breeds the desire for control over nature.
Everything we do as gardeners, farmers and beekeepers we do in the context of the natural world. The ‘natural’ approach is to allow nature to establish a balance.
Conversely, if we seek to dominate the world with ever more control -physical and chemical- we will eventually destroy the world. And, if we destroy the natural world, we destroy ourselves.
Let’s examine the evidence for the statement that we are destroying the natural world.
The natural world has existed for millions of years. Bees have existed for millions of years. Agriculture has existed for a few thousand years. Intensive agriculture for maybe one hundred years.
Looking at that hundred years, can we see any change in the productivity of the landscape? Let’s look at honey yields.
A book, called the Handy Book of Bees, was published in 1875. The author was a skeppist and allowed his bees to swarm. Today, we’d call him a natural beekeeper. He judged the progress of his colonies by weighing them.
He says that the weight of a prime swarm in its skep at the end of the season could easily be 125 pounds. A skep itself does not weigh much, so most of this weight is bees, comb and honey.
But that’s not all: add the mother hive, at 80 pounds, and maybe a cast, and the total weight at the end of the season was often 200 to 300 pounds: 200 to 300 pounds of bees, comb and honey in one season from one hive!
Granted, these figures refer to good years. Even so, today they seem simply incredible.
BBKA figures show that the average yield per hive today is around 25 pounds, having fallen from around 40 pounds 20 years ago.
This shows a dramatic decline in the productivity of our landscape and of our bees. Compared with a hundred years ago, we live in a world that is substantially impoverished.
Throughout this time, agriculture and beekeeping, have been dominated by the approach of ‘control over nature’. Hence my statement that the control mentality, the fear mentality, is destroying nature.
What does ‘control over nature’ mean in the context of bees and what are the consequences? Here are some of the things conventional beekeeping advocates. The list is by no means exhaustive.
Removing the natural food of the bee, honey, and replacing it with sugar
Look through a microscope at the stomach of a bee fed only sugar. Parts of it will be shriveled. The stomach of a bee fed only honey is plump. Honey contains 180 different substances. To bees, it is not the same as sugar.
Natural beekeepers allow their bees to keep, and live on, their own honey.
Artificially enlarging the brood nest
Forcing bees to make large brood nests breaks the synchrony between the bee and the environment and increases varroa loads.
Natural beekeepers do not artificially enlarge the brood nest, nor practice stimulatory sugar feeding.
Suppressing swarming
Swarming is the way bees reproduce. It creates genetic diversity. In bees, high genetic diversity correlates with health. If you suppress swarming you lower genetic diversity. This harms health.
Natural beekeepers allow their bees to reproduce by swarming and do not artificially rear queens.
Importing bees and queens
According to meteorologists, no other country has weather as variable as ours. So, how can imported bees, of any type, be suited to our climate? We are told bee farmers can only survive by importing bees. What does that say about the state of British beekeeping?
Natural beekeepers source their bees from local swarms.
Using neurotoxins and acids to control varroa
These chemicals also harm bees. Even soft varroa treatments adversely affect bees.
There are growing numbers of non-treatment beekeepers around the country. Varroa does not run out of control in their hives.
Using comb foundation
Bees naturally build a variety of cell sizes smaller than the size of cells in commercial foundation. They do this for a reason. Why stop them? Also, why use someone else’s wax? Do you have any idea what it contains?
Natural beekeepers allow the bees to make their own comb without foundation.
Weekly, detailed hive inspections
In effect, this is opening up the organism that is the bee -when one realizes that the whole colony is the organism. It is done to spread the brood, control swarming and, often, simply to satisfy curiosity.
Imagine you have a cat. To check it’s insides are working properly, once a week you perform detailed surgery on the cat. How long will that cat survive?
Natural beekeepers observe hives from the outside. Occasional interference may be necessary, but only when the bees truly need it.
Finally, it is sometimes said that natural beekeeping is irresponsible, and leads to unhealthy bees which spread disease.
The evidence suggests the opposite.
The disease-spreading myth illustrates fear of nature driving the desire to control nature. People no longer trust nature to do what she does naturally. She has been doing rather well for millions of years and will continue to do well if we place our trust in her.
To conclude: ladies and gentlemen, trust is free. Learn to trust nature and work within her rules.
I urge you to support the motion that Natural Beekeeping is the way forward for British Beekeepers.
Thank you."
Source
"This is the text of the opening statement I gave in support of the motion ‘Natural Beekeeping is the Way Forward for British Beekeepers’ in a debate at Stroud Beekeepers Association in January 2014 to a mixed audience of about 110 conventional and natural beekeepers. About half the audience voted at the end, with the motion being carried by an overwhelming majority.
Good evening
Thank you all for coming.
On behalf of the Natural Beekeeping Trust, I am proposing the motion that ‘Natural Beekeeping is the way forward for British Beekeepers’.
This motion is about change: doing things differently in the future. Today, we see problems for bees right across the world. Many reasons are given for this, but I contend that the mindset of modern beekeepers is part of the problem.
We all want healthy bees. But how do we achieve that? What should our mindset be if we, as beekeepers, want vibrant, healthy bees?
The conventional approach promises health through actions by beekeepers: artificial breeding, suppression of natural reproduction, frequent hive inspections, chemical treatments, increased biosecurity. The list is endless.
In contrast, natural beekeeping sees the solution as lying in actions by the bees. The role of the beekeeper is to help the bee to exist as nature intended, not to force the bee to exist as man thinks she should.
Put another way, conventional beekeepers demand control over nature; natural beekeepers follow a path of trust in nature.
If we lose our trust in something, it is not long before we begin to fear it. It is fear of nature that breeds the desire for control over nature.
Everything we do as gardeners, farmers and beekeepers we do in the context of the natural world. The ‘natural’ approach is to allow nature to establish a balance.
Conversely, if we seek to dominate the world with ever more control -physical and chemical- we will eventually destroy the world. And, if we destroy the natural world, we destroy ourselves.
Let’s examine the evidence for the statement that we are destroying the natural world.
The natural world has existed for millions of years. Bees have existed for millions of years. Agriculture has existed for a few thousand years. Intensive agriculture for maybe one hundred years.
Looking at that hundred years, can we see any change in the productivity of the landscape? Let’s look at honey yields.
A book, called the Handy Book of Bees, was published in 1875. The author was a skeppist and allowed his bees to swarm. Today, we’d call him a natural beekeeper. He judged the progress of his colonies by weighing them.
He says that the weight of a prime swarm in its skep at the end of the season could easily be 125 pounds. A skep itself does not weigh much, so most of this weight is bees, comb and honey.
But that’s not all: add the mother hive, at 80 pounds, and maybe a cast, and the total weight at the end of the season was often 200 to 300 pounds: 200 to 300 pounds of bees, comb and honey in one season from one hive!
Granted, these figures refer to good years. Even so, today they seem simply incredible.
BBKA figures show that the average yield per hive today is around 25 pounds, having fallen from around 40 pounds 20 years ago.
This shows a dramatic decline in the productivity of our landscape and of our bees. Compared with a hundred years ago, we live in a world that is substantially impoverished.
Throughout this time, agriculture and beekeeping, have been dominated by the approach of ‘control over nature’. Hence my statement that the control mentality, the fear mentality, is destroying nature.
What does ‘control over nature’ mean in the context of bees and what are the consequences? Here are some of the things conventional beekeeping advocates. The list is by no means exhaustive.
Removing the natural food of the bee, honey, and replacing it with sugar
Look through a microscope at the stomach of a bee fed only sugar. Parts of it will be shriveled. The stomach of a bee fed only honey is plump. Honey contains 180 different substances. To bees, it is not the same as sugar.
Natural beekeepers allow their bees to keep, and live on, their own honey.
Artificially enlarging the brood nest
Forcing bees to make large brood nests breaks the synchrony between the bee and the environment and increases varroa loads.
Natural beekeepers do not artificially enlarge the brood nest, nor practice stimulatory sugar feeding.
Suppressing swarming
Swarming is the way bees reproduce. It creates genetic diversity. In bees, high genetic diversity correlates with health. If you suppress swarming you lower genetic diversity. This harms health.
Natural beekeepers allow their bees to reproduce by swarming and do not artificially rear queens.
Importing bees and queens
According to meteorologists, no other country has weather as variable as ours. So, how can imported bees, of any type, be suited to our climate? We are told bee farmers can only survive by importing bees. What does that say about the state of British beekeeping?
Natural beekeepers source their bees from local swarms.
Using neurotoxins and acids to control varroa
These chemicals also harm bees. Even soft varroa treatments adversely affect bees.
There are growing numbers of non-treatment beekeepers around the country. Varroa does not run out of control in their hives.
Using comb foundation
Bees naturally build a variety of cell sizes smaller than the size of cells in commercial foundation. They do this for a reason. Why stop them? Also, why use someone else’s wax? Do you have any idea what it contains?
Natural beekeepers allow the bees to make their own comb without foundation.
Weekly, detailed hive inspections
In effect, this is opening up the organism that is the bee -when one realizes that the whole colony is the organism. It is done to spread the brood, control swarming and, often, simply to satisfy curiosity.
Imagine you have a cat. To check it’s insides are working properly, once a week you perform detailed surgery on the cat. How long will that cat survive?
Natural beekeepers observe hives from the outside. Occasional interference may be necessary, but only when the bees truly need it.
Finally, it is sometimes said that natural beekeeping is irresponsible, and leads to unhealthy bees which spread disease.
The evidence suggests the opposite.
The disease-spreading myth illustrates fear of nature driving the desire to control nature. People no longer trust nature to do what she does naturally. She has been doing rather well for millions of years and will continue to do well if we place our trust in her.
To conclude: ladies and gentlemen, trust is free. Learn to trust nature and work within her rules.
I urge you to support the motion that Natural Beekeeping is the way forward for British Beekeepers.
Thank you."
Source
Friday, January 17, 2014
Urgent Petition to End Ecocide in Europe (4 days left - vote closed Jan. 21th)
VOTE NOW - AND SHARE WITH FRIENDS!
Vivienne came well prepared with a shocking map: With 5 degrees of global warning (which is what the International Energy Agency, World Bank, and Price Waterhouse Coopers predict), more than half of the planet will be un-inhabitable. Once 2 degrees of warming are reached, further warming will be inevitable and unstoppable. “That map means mass extinction. We are talking about terrible damage being done for example in the Alberta tar sands”.
As Prisca explained, End Ecocide is not linked to any political party. We have supporters from a variety of parties – for example Jo Leinen from the social democrats in Germany and Corinne Lepage, a French Liberal. “The beauty of ecocide is that it fits with any kind of ideological ideas you may have”. For Greens the link is obvious. For social democrats, the law of ecocide prevention will ensure social justice and that those responsible for damage are liable and pay for it (rather than those currently suffering who are usually poor, disadvantaged and disenfranchised communities, such as indigenous populations, mine workers or people living close to fracking sites). From a liberal point of view, if we destroy our planet, we won’t be free to act anymore, we’ll lose our liberty. And last but not least, the law of ecocide prevention clearly fits with conservative values, as the whole point of the law of ecocide is to conserve and to preserve this planet for future generations.
VOTE NOW - AND SHARE WITH FRIENDS!
Vivienne came well prepared with a shocking map: With 5 degrees of global warning (which is what the International Energy Agency, World Bank, and Price Waterhouse Coopers predict), more than half of the planet will be un-inhabitable. Once 2 degrees of warming are reached, further warming will be inevitable and unstoppable. “That map means mass extinction. We are talking about terrible damage being done for example in the Alberta tar sands”.
As Prisca explained, End Ecocide is not linked to any political party. We have supporters from a variety of parties – for example Jo Leinen from the social democrats in Germany and Corinne Lepage, a French Liberal. “The beauty of ecocide is that it fits with any kind of ideological ideas you may have”. For Greens the link is obvious. For social democrats, the law of ecocide prevention will ensure social justice and that those responsible for damage are liable and pay for it (rather than those currently suffering who are usually poor, disadvantaged and disenfranchised communities, such as indigenous populations, mine workers or people living close to fracking sites). From a liberal point of view, if we destroy our planet, we won’t be free to act anymore, we’ll lose our liberty. And last but not least, the law of ecocide prevention clearly fits with conservative values, as the whole point of the law of ecocide is to conserve and to preserve this planet for future generations.
VOTE NOW - AND SHARE WITH FRIENDS!
Monday, January 13, 2014
My happiness was short lived :(
I asked this neighbor farmer to help me sow mixed grass (mostly white clover) for my sheep and bees after he has harvested his Wheat and he was happy to help. One thing is sure though; I will not be able to call my farm "organic" for at least 3 more years. Most pesticides remain active in the soil for up to 1200 days :( still able to enter the plant (contaminating nectar and pollen).
"Chin up! Stay the course! One step at a time, one step at a time, one step .........." (talking to myself)
Maybe it is not about saving this world but trying to make it better.
"It always seems impossible until it is done" Nelson Mandela
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Great News !
Fantastic news! Our new farm is in the Danish province called Stevns Kommune and this province decided that Pesticides are NOT ALLOWED to be used by farmers YES!!! All the yellow and orange provinces are the ones prohibiting pesticide use and the red ones use pesticides. My bees will be relieved when I tell them this great news:)
Friday, December 6, 2013
My beekeeper doesn't understand me!
What I like about this illustration is the little bee saying "My beekeeper doesn't understand me". So what does this little bee actually refer to?
Conventional beekeepers are focused on profit. This is the starting point of conventional beekeeping. The whole world seems motivated by profit so why should beekeeping be different. To be able to make lots of honey the conventional beeks use all sorts of methods:
1. Swarm Control
- They do this by clipping Queen Bees wings so she can't fly. In case the colony swarms they soon realise they don't have a Queen and they return to the hive.
- They super the hive with empty boxes over the brood nest. Bees dislike empty space above their heads so they, instead to swarm, are building new comb and filling it with honey. They force bees to produce more honey which bees otherwise would not do!
Dr. Seeley is a famous scientist researching swarm behaviour. He found that a swarm of Apis mellifera always choose hollow space which is approx 40 litres, even if offered larger space. So if bees are preferring 40 litres hive the conventional supering method is disrupting their biological clock.
What is colonies biological clock? The bees have Spring, Summer and Autumn to do all their biology requires them to do and that is:
Harvesting pollen and nectar, propolis and water - they do this throughout the whole warm season
Raring worker bees and Drones (males) - they need Drones to mate with the virgin queens.
Prime Swarm - old Queen leaves the mother hive with half of the worker bees and finds another cavity. This is the natural procreation of Honeybees.
Raising Virgin Queens - making several Queen Cells
Cast Swarm/s - when Virgin Queens emerge some of them might leave the hive with a small force of worker bees to find a new cavity. Cast Swarms are much smaller than prime swarms and have less chance to build up before winter.
Mating of Virgin Queens - to be able to mate successfully a virgin queen must mate with dozens of Drones on her nuptial flight
Brood Break - is something bees don't get often in conventional hives. Conventional beekeepers usually suppress swarming by supering and re-queen the colony once the virgin queens have mated. So they simply take the old queen out, kill her, and place a newly mated Queen into the hive. Like this there is no Brood Break since brood production is continuous. Varroa mites can breed only if there are brood larvae in the combs. Without brood they cant multiply. And conventional beekeepers wonder why they have so much issues with Varroa in their hives. Brood Break creates a break in Varroa breeding also resulting in less Varroa. There is also the possibility that bees do other thing within the hive during the brood-less cicle like grooming one another maybe?
2. Varroa Control
Conventional beekeepers treat their hives against Varroa with all sorts of chemicals and organic acids and by doing this they are standing in the way of Bees and Varroa finding the way to co-adapt to each other. The treatments seem to be only creating more virulent Varroa mites and weaker bees otherwise how can we explain conventional beekeepers still having huge winter loss?
Drone Culling - for me culling Drones is the most stupid and cruel thing beekeepers do to their bee colonies. The bees invest large amounts of energy to raise Drones. They need Drones to mate with Queens. Only the most fit Drones mate with Queens. There is no way to tell if we have culled the strongest Drones. Then they wonder why their Queens are not mated properly.
It is true that Varroa prefer to breed in Drone cells which are larger and the Drones metamorphosis takes longer than that of a worker bee enabling the Varroa to multiply more. Treatment free beekeepers have noticed that bees still survive even if they don't practice Drone Culling, and many conventional beekeeper's colonies still die even if they practiced Drone Culling.
Just for the record; I don't cull Drones and my hives have a Brood Break. My colonies evict Drones already in July and refuse any Drones from entering the hive after that. Like this there is no way Varroa can enter the hive via Drones from other colonies in the area. The reason my colonies evict Drones this early is maybe due to uninterrupted biological clock. In conventional hives the beekeepers remove/cull the Drones and bees must raise them again which takes time and disrupts the biological clock of the colony resulting in later drone eviction.
3. Migratory Beekeeping
Migratory beekeeping coupled with mono-crop agriculture and the use of pesticides is the main source of CCD (colony collapse disorder). Bees from all over country intermix on pollination stations and spread disease to one another. Pesticides weaken the bees and the mono-crop offers only one source of protein food weakening them even further. What I don't understand is how come this is not labeled as "ANIMAL ABUSE"?!!! Ask your politicians!
4. Mono-cell size Wax Foundation
Conventional beekeepers use wax sheets known as foundation which have a mono-cell size of 5.1mm- 5.3mm cells. If bees are allowed to build their own comb they clearly demonstrate large variety of cells size ranging from 4,6mm all the way to 6,5mm. Only bees know why they do it, we don't.
It seems this little bee has right to say "My beekeeper doesn't understand me"
I could go on but I feel this is enough for now. I will say that opposing to the conventional beekeeping stands Natural Beekeeping where bees are largely let do their thing, naturally.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
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