As crime sagas go, a scheme rigged by a sophisticated cartel of global traders has all the right blockbuster elements: clandestine movements of illegal substances through a network of co-operatives in Asia, a German conglomerate, jet-setting executives, doctored laboratory reports, high-profile takedowns and fearful turncoats.
More related to this story
- ‘Alarming’ decline in bumblebees seen worldwide: researchers
- Aging honey bees have trouble getting home
- Island beekeepers stung by fear of mainland disease
What makes this worldwide drama unusual, other than being regarded as part of the largest food fraud in U.S. history, is the fact that honey, nature’s benign golden sweetener, is the lucrative contraband.
Honey has become a staple in the North American diet. Those that do not consume it straight from bear-shaped squeeze bottles eat it regularly whether they know it or not – honey is baked into everything from breakfast cereals to cookies and mixed into sauces and cough drops. Produced by bees from the nectar of flowers and then strained for clarity, honey’s all-natural origin has garnered lofty status among health-conscious consumers who prefer products without refined sweeteners (think white sugar and processed corn syrup). About 1.2 million metric tons of honey is produced worldwide each year.
What consumers don’t know is that honey doesn’t usually come straight – or pure – from the hive. Giant steel drums of honey bound for grocery store shelves and the food processors that crank out your cereal are in constant flow through the global market. Most honey comes from China, where beekeepers are notorious for keeping their bees healthy with antibiotics banned in North America because they seep into honey and contaminate it; packers there learn to mask the acrid notes of poor quality product by mixing in sugar or corn-based syrups to fake good taste.
None of this is on the label. Rarely will a jar of honey say “Made in China.” Instead, Chinese honey sold in North America is more likely to be stamped as Indonesian, Malaysian or Taiwanese, due to a growing multimillion dollar laundering system designed to keep the endless supply of cheap and often contaminated Chinese honey moving into the U.S., where tariffs have been implemented to staunch the flow and protect its own struggling industry.
Also struggling is the country’s agriculturally vital bee population. A report released Monday found that four previously abundant species of bumblebee are close to disappearing. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences documented a 96-per-cent decline in the numbers of the four species.
Industry insiders began tracking the questionable cargo years ago when low-priced honey from surprising countries infiltrated the market. But federal law enforcement officials have only begun to home in.
Savvy honey handlers use a network of Asian countries to “wash” Chinese-origin product – with new packaging and false documents – before shipping it to the U.S. for consumption in various forms.
Fifteen people and six companies spanning from Asia to Germany and the U.S. were recently indicted in Chicago and Seattle for their roles in an $80-million gambit still playing out in the courts. That case has been billed as the largest food fraud in U.S. history. But American beekeepers, already suffering from a bee death epidemic that is killing off a third of their colonies a year, say the flow of suspect imports has not let up.
“We see a flood, an avalanche of [laundered] honey continuing,” said Ron Phipps, a global honey markets expert. “It has created a two-tier market where cheap, illegal honey … has a huge competitive advantage,” he said, adding: “It’s really putting the domestic industry on the verge of crisis.”
At stake is more than just a sweet industry.
Honeybees are responsible for pollinating millions of acres of agricultural crops, including fruits, vegetables, oilseeds and legumes, worth $20-billion annually in the U.S. alone. More than a quarter of the human diet hinges on those crops.
Friday, 7 January 2011
Honey laundering: The sour side of nature’s golden sweetener - The Globe and Mail
Soaring global food prices spark fears of social unrest - The Globe and Mail
Food prices have soared to record levels around the world, raising fears that poor countries could face a crisis similar to the one that led to rioting and rationing two years ago.
“We are entering a danger territory,” Abdolreza Abbassian, an economist at the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) told reporters Wednesday.
More related to this story
- Honey laundering: The sour side of nature’s golden sweetener
- Food prices hit record high, Australia floods add to fears
- How to win the coming food fight
The FAO’s food price index, a formula based on the wholesale price of 55 products including rice, meat, wheat, milk and cheese, reached a record high in December. The index has risen in each of the past six months and it hit 214.7 in December. The previous record was 213.5 set at the height of the food crisis in June of 2008, when soaring prices led to riots in several countries such as Haiti, Somalia and Cameroon while others, including India and Vietnam, restricted rice exports.
“There is still room for prices to go up much higher, if, for example, the dry conditions in Argentina tend to become a drought and if we start having problems with winterkill in the northern hemisphere for the wheat crops,” Mr. Abbassian said. “I am feeling less optimistic than I was in November – we have not had much good news.”
Prices for many agricultural commodities started rising last fall largely because of poor grain crops in Canada, Russia and Ukraine. They have spiked even higher recently because of dry weather in Argentina, a major soybean producer, and flooding in parts of Australia, which has wiped out many wheat crops. The price of wheat has jumped about 17 per cent in the last month while corn is up 11 per cent. Both are now close to two-year highs. Other food staples have been soaring as well, including canola, up 43 per cent last year, and sugar, which hit 30-year highs.
“The price spike has raised fresh concerns about food price inflation,” said Kenrick Jordan a senior economist at the Bank of Montreal. Mr. Jordan said while the impact will be manageable for developed countries: “In developing countries, where food accounts for a much more significant part of household budgets, the inflation threat is much greater.”
The tight supply situation is expected to get worse. The FAO estimates food production will have to increase by 70 per cent by 2050 as the world population expands to 9.1 billion people from about 6.8 billion people in 2010.
Canadian consumers will start feeling the impact as well.
Food prices stayed relatively stable in this country last year because of fierce competition among food companies and grocery stores that were reluctant to pass along rising input prices for fear of losing market share. That helped keep food inflation below overall inflation for much of the year. But the sharp increase in commodity prices has prompted food companies like General Mills, Kraft, Sara Lee, Kellogg and ConAgra Foods to drop discounts and start rising prices on many products.
“We simply cannot have deflationary or even flat pricing in light of significant and accelerating input cost inflation,” ConAgra’s chief executive Gary Rodkin said during a recent conference call with analysts. The company, which makes dozens of products from popcorn to French fries and spaghetti, said it expects input prices to jump by up to 6 per cent in 2011.
Hormel Foods, whose products include Spam, is hiking prices by up to 4 per cent this winter while Sara Lee has already raised some product prices and expects further increases this year.
Normally rising food prices would be good news for Canadian farmers, but not this year. Persistent rains across much of the Prairie provinces last spring and summer led to some of the worst grain crops in years in terms of production and quality.
“It’s bad,” said Maureen Fitzhenry, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Wheat Board. “From a quality perspective, it’s probably the worst wheat quality profile overall in at least six years.”
Nonetheless, she said the long-term outlook remains upbeat. “The fundamentals that would support grain prices are expected to remain fairly strong.”
One key difference between the current price run-up and the 2008 food crisis is the price of oil. It is currently around $90 (U.S.) a barrel whereas it topped $140 in 2008. Fertilizer prices are also lower as is the price of rice, a key food staple in many countries. The current trend, though, is worrisome, Mr. Abbassian said.
“But we could have bumper crops everywhere and the prices could collapse – you never know – but, at the same time, high prices are not going to go away and there is a strong possibility that they might remain high for two years.”
With a report from Guardian news service
Census: Number of poor may be millions higher - Yahoo! News
WASHINGTON – The number of poor people in the U.S. is millions higher than previously known, with 1 in 6 Americans — many of them 65 and older — struggling in poverty due to rising medical care and other costs, according to preliminary census figures released Wednesday.
At the same time, government aid programs such as tax credits and food stamps kept many people out of poverty, helping to ensure the poverty rate did not balloon even higher during the recession in 2009, President Barack Obama's first year in office.
Under a new revised census formula, overall poverty in 2009 stood at 15.7 percent, or 47.8 million people. That's compared to the official 2009 rate of 14.3 percent, or 43.6 million, that was reported by the Census Bureau last September.
Across all demographic groups, Americans 65 and older sustained the largest increases in poverty under the revised formula — nearly doubling to 16.1 percent. As a whole, working-age adults 18-64 also saw increases in poverty, as well as whites and Hispanics. Children, blacks and unmarried couples were less likely to be considered poor under the new measure.
Due to new adjustments for geographical variations in costs of living, people residing in the suburbs, the Northeast and West were the regions mostly likely to have poor people — nearly 1 in 5 in the West.
The new measure will not replace the official poverty rate but will be published alongside the traditional figure this fall as a "supplement" for federal agencies and state governments to determine anti-poverty policies. Economists have long criticized the official poverty measure as inadequate because it only includes pretax cash income and does not account for medical, transportation and work expenses.
"Under the new measure, we can clearly see the effects of our government policies," said Kathleen Short, a Census Bureau research economist who calculated the revised poverty numbers. "When you're accounting for in-kind benefits and tax credits, you're bringing many people in extreme poverty off the very bottom."
The official measure is based on a 1955 cost of an emergency food diet and does not factor in other living costs. Nor does it consider non-cash government aid when calculating income, which surged higher in 2009 during the recession.
Short's analysis, published Wednesday as part of a series of census working papers on poverty, shows that out-of-pocket medical expenses had a significant impact in affecting the number of poor — without those costs, poverty would have dropped from 15.7 percent to 12.4 percent.
The effect was seen most notably among older Americans. Under the official poverty rate, about 8.9 percent lived in poverty, mostly because they benefit from Social Security cash payments. But when taking into account out-of-pocket medical expenses and other factors, that number rises to 16.1 percent.
The numbers cited for 2009 are preliminary, but census officials say they offer a good representative look at the state of U.S. poverty and where the numbers are headed when new 2010 figures are released this fall.
Among the findings:
_Transportation, commuting and child care Younger son of the late Shah of Iran kills himself in Boston
47.8 Million People Live in Poverty -- Far More Than Previously Thought | AlterNet
47.8 Million People Live in Poverty -- Far More Than Previously Thought
The Census Bureau has released new estimates that show the US poverty rate is far higher than previously thought, with 1 in 6 Americans living below the poverty line, reports the AP. Unlike the official poverty rate, the new numbers take into account medical bills as well as transportation costs and work expenses. The number of seniors living in poverty almost doubles under the new formula, according to the AP.
The report also found that in 2009 many families were saved from poverty by government aid programs like work stamps and tax credits. The piece quotes a Census Bureau research economist who says:
Under the new measure, we can clearly see the effects of our government policies ... When you're accounting for in-kind benefits and tax credits, you're bringing many people in extreme poverty off the very bottom.
Less likely to pull people out of poverty: showboating about the deficit, threatening Social Security, promising to repeal health care reform and other preoccupations of the newly inaugurated Republican House.
By Tana Ganeva | Sourced from AlterNet
Posted at January 5, 2011, 4:08 pm
Florida poverty: Destitution grows
During recent elections, candidates in Florida have been preoccupied with their polling numbers. But one set of profoundly troubling numbers ought to command everyone's attention.
Those numbers reflect the increase in Floridians who are now grappling with poverty, or struggling to avoid it.
Some 2.7 million people in the state now live below the federal poverty level, according to a report released by the Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy, a Tallahassee-based independent research organization.
That number reflects an increase of 550,000 since 2007.
Of that 2.7 million, 850,000 are children.
Of that 2.7 million, 1.2 million live in deep poverty.
That's an increase of 270,000 people who are subsisting on household incomes that are half or less than half of the 2009 federal poverty level - which is $10,956 for an individual and $44,366 for nine or more people.
Then there are those who aren't officially poor but are barely squeaking by: Of the state's 7 million households, 27 percent have incomes of $25,000 or less, according to the center.
Much of this destitution stems from obvious reasons.
Florida's unemployment rate is around 12 percent, due in large part to a national recession sparked by a mortgage meltdown, which crippled the state's main economic engines of growth and tourism.
But the state can't just hope for industries to get back on track if it is ever to lessen the poverty that will ultimately cost the state more in terms of welfare and corrections.
It must also address the structural issues that are fueling it - such as a high school graduation rate that continues to languish at 65 percent, which puts it among the 11 states and the District of Columbia that graduate less than 70 percent of its students.
Let's hope candidates for political office have this issue on their radar - because if it isn't, they'll wind up representing a state that will have a whole lot of suffering along with all the sunshine.
The two just don't go well together.
The Significance of US Govt Cannabinoid Patent 6,630,507 | StoptheDrugWar.org
The Significance of US Govt Cannabinoid Patent 6,630,507
When I was at the Patients Out of Time Medical Cannabis conference in Asilomar this last April, I overheard a remark that startled me: "The US Government has a patent on cannabis." I couldn't locate the person who made the comment, so I went home and did some online research. Sure enough, patent number 6,630,507 states unequivocally that cannabinoids are useful in the prevention and treatment of a wide variety of diseases including auto-immune disorders, stroke, trauma, Parkinson's, Alzeheimer's and HIV dementia. The patent, awarded in 2003, is based on research done by the National Institute of Health, and is assigned to the US Dept. of Health and Human Services. So, why is this important? Here is a legal document, in the public domain, which flies in the face of the US Government's stated position with regard to the classification of cannabis as a Schedule I substance having no "currently accepted medical use". Believe me, citing this patent stops the "medical marijuana is a myth" advocates dead in their tracks. They simply cannot argue with it. The forces that would keep cannabis illegal are vocal and well funded, but they are not impervious to persistent effort. The lynch pin in the War on Drugs is cannabis. Without the suppression and interdiction of this popular and widely used substance, there simply would not be enough "illegal drug use" going on to justify the huge amount of money and resources spent on "fighting drugs." I believe disseminating information about this patent as widely as possible, and to as many people as possible is a crucial strategy in loosening that lynch pin, and changing public perception about cannabis. I, personally, downloaded the first page of this patent and sent a copy (with the assignee highlighted) to every one of my elected representatives. I have also included information about it in "letters to the editor" referencing any cannabis related news story I come across, I use it as an argument in every State medical cannabis and decriminalization initiative, and have mentioned it in all my comments to online posts and blogs of the same nature. I would be delighted if everyone who believes the War on Drugs is a failed and destructive policy, would do the same, until the existence of this irrefutable patent becomes widely held public knowledge, and government 's rhetoric is shown to be as hollow as a busted drum.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/speakeasy/2008/jul/23/significance_us_govt_cannabin...
Cannabinoids as antioxidants and ... - Google Patent Search
Inventors: Aidan J. Hampson, Julius Axelrod, Maurizio Grimaldi
Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services
Primary Examiner: Kevin E. Weddington
Attorneys: Klarquist Sparkman, LLPU.S. Classification
514/454International Classification
A61K 3135
Cheeky bastards! The American govt owns the patent on using cannabis as medicine.
AND THEY KNOW IT WORKS
So why the fight?
Did you know that marijuana kills cancer cells?
Did you know that marijuana kills cancer cells? It actually causes them to eat themselves in a process called "autophage".
Studies:
THC (marijuana) helps cure cancer says Harvard study
Link:
http://www.nowpublic.com/thc_marijuana_helps_cure_cancer_says_harvard_study#i...
Marijuana Chemical May Fight Brain Cancer
Active Component In Marijuana Targets Aggressive Brain Cancer Cells, Study SaysLink:
http://www.webmd.com/cancer/brain-cancer/news/20090401/marijuana-chemical-may...
Did you know the government knew about it in 1974?
http://www.alternet.org/story/9257/
Did you know that the cannabinoid receptor is the most prevalent cellular receptor in our brains?
http://www.medicalcannabis.com/Cannabis-Science/endocannabinoid-system
This mystery began to unravel in 1964, when tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the main psychoactive chemical in cannabis was isolated and synthesized by Raphael Mechoulam and colleagues in Israel. Subsequently, in 1988, Allyn Howlett and colleagues discovered the cannabinoid receptor in the brain. This receptor called CB1was a precise match for the unique chemicals called cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant (phytocannabinoids). This initial discovery led to scientists hypothesizing that humans are "wired" for cannabis. The CB1receptors have been found in the brain in areas that control the coordination of movement, emotions, memory, reduction of pain, reward systems, and reproduction, yet are almost absent in the brain stem (which affects our vital functions such as breathing). It appears that cannabinoid receptors, which modulate other neurotransmitter function in a retrograde “on demand” fashion are present in far higher concentrations in the brain than any other receptor. While the CB1 receptors are primarily found in the central nervous system, a second type, CB2, discovered in 1993, are found primarily in the immune system, GI tract, liver, spleen, kidney, bones, heart, and peripheral nervous system. In fact, the CB2 receptor appears to be up-regulated whenever there is tissue pathology.
What do you think about this?
Is it true?
Did the government know?
What do you think about that?
Did you know that the government actually has the patent on medical marijuana… for use in fighting diseases such as cancer, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and more?
And yet they repeatedly say that there is "no medical use" for marijuana.
Look it up. U.S. Patent #6630507
Matt,What do they teach you kids in school these days? You believe that government propaganda?
Did you know that there has not been ONE recorded death from marijuana overdose?? Ever??
Unlike the thousands who die from overdose of prescription drugs every year.
SyQ,That’s the most close-minded, ridiculous answer I’ve ever heard.
Why don’t you look up "endocannabinoid system" and learn what it does before you say anything else. The system of cannabis receptors in your brain and other vital organs is ESSENTIAL TO LIFE. You cannot overdose on marijuana… no matter how much you ingest. Not the same with Cyanide.
In fact, cannabis kills the cancer cells… and leave the healthy cells INTACT. Look it up.
Paul…. a link to prove your one death would be appreciated. The cannabinoid receptors are the most prominent receptors in your brain, but they are completely absent from your brain stem which is why they say you cannot overdose on mj. It is NON-toxic to your system.And as far as "medical advice" goes… I didn’t give any. I just point out FACTS. I didn’t tell anyone to smoke or ingest marijuana… or tell them to use it in any way. I just pointed some FACTS and studies to support my facts.
And I never said that marijuana is "harmless". YOU put those words in my mouth. But, I will say this, since you brought it up… if you aren’t going to drive or operate heavy machinery, marijuana is harmless. Especially compared to all the prescription pharmaceuticals those "M.D’s" you so revere are passing out like candy.
Other Alzheimer’s Sites Online
Good article thank you http://caring-for-alzheimers.com/
Northrepps International Airport (Cromer)
Remarks: Operated by C.Gurney Esq., Heath Cottage, Northrepps, Cromer. Norfolk. NR27 9LB.
Unlicenced airfield.
Light aircraft and helicopters welcome on prior permission and at pilot's own risk. Circuits at 600' aal, LH on 36, RH on 18.
Several Helicopter Main Routes (1500' - FL60) run NW/SE to the North of the airfield, HMR 7 crossing the Northern boundary of the airfield.
Intensive military and civil low level flying in the area seven days a week.
All aircraft should contact Coltishall Zone during their hours of operation, otherwise Norwich App. LARS available from Coltishall. F/S and alerting Service available from Coltishall or Anglia Radar.Departures: -Normally restricted to Rwy 18 only, depending on aircraft take-off capability, surface wind, ambient temperature and runway conditions.
Microlight activity 7 days a week. Occasional Crop spraying, banner towing and Model flying (weekdays only).Accommodation: Several hotels and guest houses within easy reach providing accommodation for all budgets. Information available from Cromer Tourist Information Centre.
N 5254.08
E 00119.83Cromer Micro/Northrepps Airport 129.825 A/G.
158�M and 1.9nm from closest beacon: CM 313.5 Cromer(Northrepps) Coltishall Zone 125.90
CSL 116.5 360 9.5 150ft AMSL Norwich APP 119.35.
NH 371.5 356 13.7 2nm SE of Cromer. Anglia Radar 125.275
Rwy
Dim(m)
Surface
TORA(m) LDA(m)
Lighting
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493/23
Grass
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Nil
Rwy 36 gradient 1.8% UP
Op hrs: PPR.SR-SS.
Customs: PNR
Landing Fee: Aircraft £5.00, Microlights £3.00
Hangarage: Nil
Maintenance: Nil
Northrepps International Airport is operated by Chris Gurney Esq.
Tel: 01263 513015
Fax: 01263 515516
Mobile: 07860 466484An aerial view of Northrepps International Airport
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Terminal One - Domestic Flights
Taxis: Blue Star 01263-512645
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Hi Chris (-:
Bees in freefall as study shows sharp US decline | Environment | The Guardian
Bumblebees are important pollinators of wild plants and crops around the world. Photograph: RSPB/PA
The abundance of four common species of bumblebee in the US has dropped by 96% in just the past few decades, according to the most comprehensive national census of the insects. Scientists said the alarming decline, which could have devastating implications for the pollination of both wild and farmed plants, was likely to be a result of disease and low genetic diversity in bee populations.
Bumblebees are important pollinators of wild plants and agricultural crops around the world including tomatoes and berries thanks to their large body size, long tongues, and high-frequency buzzing, which helps release pollen from flowers.
Bees in general pollinate some 90% of the world's commercial plants, including most fruits, vegetables and nuts. Coffee, soya beans and cotton are all dependent on pollination by bees to increase yields. It is the start of a food chain that also sustains wild birds and animals.
But the insects, along with other crucial pollinators such as moths and hoverflies, have been in serious decline around the world since the last few decades of the 20th century. It is unclear why, but scientists think it is from a combination of new diseases, changing habitats around cities, and increasing use of pesticides.
Sydney Cameron, an entomologist at the University of Illinois, led a team on a three-year study of the changing distribution, genetic diversity and pathogens in eight species of bumblebees in the US.
By comparing her results with those in museum records of bee populations, she showed that the relative abundance of four of the sampled species (Bombus occidentalis, B. pensylvanicus, B. affinis and B. terricola) had declined by up to 96% and that their geographic ranges had contracted by 23% to 87%, some within just the past two decades.
Cameron's findings reflect similar studies across the world. According to the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in the UK, three of the 25 British species of bumblebee are already extinct and half of the remainder have shown serious declines, often up to 70%, since around the 1970s. Last year, scientists inaugurated a £10m programme, called the Insect Pollinators Initiative, to look at the reasons behind the devastation in the insect population.
Cameron's team also showed that declining species of bee had higher infection levels of a pathogen called Nosema bombi and lower genetic diversity compared with the four species of bee that were not in decline – B. bifarius, B. vosnesenskii, B. impatiens and B. bimaculatus.
The N. bombi pathogen is commonly found in bumblebees throughout Europe but until now has been largely unstudied in North America. The infection reduces the lifespans of individual bees and also results in smaller colony sizes.
The reduction in genetic diversity seen in the declining bees means that they are less able to fight off any new pathogens or resist pollution or predators. "Higher pathogen prevalence and reduced genetic diversity are, thus, realistic predictors of these alarming patterns of decline in north America, although cause and effect remain uncertain," Cameron wrote today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Insects such as bees, moths and hoverflies pollinate around a third of the crops grown worldwide. If all of the UK's insect pollinators were wiped out, the drop in crop production would cost the UK economy up to £440m a year, equivalent to around 13% of the UK's income from farming.
The collapse in the global bee population is a major threat to crops. It is estimated that a third of everything we eat depends upon pollination by bees, which means they contribute some £26bn to the global economy.
Other identified causes of bee decline include parasites such as the bloodsucking varroa mite and viral and bacterial infections, pesticides and poor nutrition stemming from intensive farming methods.
"Pollinator decline has become a worldwide issue, raising increasing concerns over impacts on global food production, stability of pollination services, and disruption of plant-pollinator networks," wrote Cameron. "In accordance with the goals of the United Nations convention on biological diversity to reduce the rate of species loss by 2010, such efforts to elucidate the causes and ecological impacts of bumble bee decline, in co-ordination with informed conservation strategies, will go a long way to mitigating further losses."
This article was amended on Tuesday 4 January 2011. The original version suggested that inbreeding was a cause of the bumblebee's decline; and Sydney Cameron was described as a 'he'. These mistakes have been corrected.
Daily Kos: State of the Nation
U.S Bumble bee Population Implodes, Drops 96%
by FishOutofWater
Tue Jan 04, 2011 at 06:58:34 PM PST
Pollinators of food crops and wild plants are in near catastrophic decline.
Colony collapse disorder has decimated honey bee populations. Now a census of bumble bees shows a 96% population collapseof 4 major U.S. species of bumble bees.
The abundance of four common species of bumblebee in the US has dropped by 96% in just the past few decades, according to the most comprehensive national census of the insects.
- FishOutofWater's diary :: ::
Colony Collapse Disorder, affecting honeybees and the pollination of major food crops, has been well reported for several years. Bumble bees are vital to the productivity and reproduction of many food crops and many wild plants. Tomatoes depend on bumble bees for effective pollination. The collapse of bumble bee populations has been suspected by biologists, but has not been reported because of a lack of accurate recent data on the numbers of bees in the wild.
Multiple causes are suspected for the collapse of both honey bee and wild bee populations. However, infected commercially raised bumble bees are a suspected vector for an escaped exotic disease that has devastated wild bumble bee populations.
In the late 1990’s, bee biologists started to notice a decline in the abundance and distribution of several wild bumble bee species. Three of these species (western bumble bee, rusty patched bumble bee, and yellowbanded bumble bee) were once very common and important crop pollinators over their ranges. Franklin’s bumble bee was historically found only in a small area in southern Oregon and northern California, and it may now be extinct. The dramatic decline in wild populations of these species occurred about the time that a disease outbreak was reported in populations of commercially raised western bumble bees, which were distributed for greenhouse pollination in western North America. The timing of this suggests that an escaped exotic disease organism may be the cause of this widespread loss.
The new study, led by Prof. Sydney Cameron, a massive 3 year national census of wild bee populations, reveals that the suspected bumble bee decline is far worse than suspected.
We compare current and historical distributions of eight species, compiling a database of >73,000 museum records for comparison with data from intensive nationwide surveys of >16,000 specimens.
We show that the relative abundances of four species have declined by up to 96% and that their surveyed geographic ranges have contracted by 23–87%, some within the last 20 y.
We also show that declining populations have significantly higher infection levels of the microsporidian pathogen Nosema bombi and lower genetic diversity compared with co-occurring populations of the stable (nondeclining) species. Higher pathogen prevalence and reduced genetic diversity are, thus, realistic predictors of these alarming patterns of decline in North America, although cause and effect remain uncertain.
One wild bee, the Franklin's bumblebee may have already gone extinct.
"I’ve seen Franklin’s bumble bee only once in the last five years," Thorp said. "I didn’t find it in 2007. I didn’t find it in 2004 or 2005. The last time I saw it was in August 2006 at Mt. Ashland when I spotted a single, solitary worker."
"It appears that Franklin’s bumble bee may be extinct before it even made the endangered insects list."
Its decline, disappearance and possible demise, closely linked to the widespread decline of native pollinators in North America, should concern all facets of society, he said.
"The loss of a native pollinator could strike a devastating blow to the ecosystem, economy and food supply," said Thorp, a 45-year researcher of bumble bees. Although he retired from a 30-year career at the UC Davis Department of Entomology in 1994, he continues his research on native pollinators and pollinator decline.
A number of bee experts have sent a petition to Dept. of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack requesting to restrict the movement of commercial bumble bees and to insure that they are disease free to protect wild bees.PDF
February 10, 2010
Dear Secretary Vilsack, Administrator Smith, and Deputy Administrator Bech:
The undersigned scientists respectfully request that the USDA-APHIS take action to regulate the movement and health of commercial bumble bees in order to safeguard wild, native bumble bee pollinators.
Native bumble bee pollinators are important to the reproduction of agriculturally significant and native flowering plants. At least four species of formerly common North American bumble bees have experienced declines; two of those species – the rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) and Franklin’s bumble bee (Bombus franklini) may be on the brink of extinction. Major threats to the survival of these wild bee pollinators include the potential for spread of disease from commercially produced bees that are transported throughout the country, competition with locally native species, and hybridization with locally native species.
In order to prevent the spread of disease to wild populations of agriculturally significant bee pollinators, the following scientists respectfully request that APHIS use its regulatory authority, outlined in a petition submitted on January 12, 2010 by The Xerces Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, Defenders of Wildlife, and Dr. Robbin Thorp, to regulate the interstate movement and health of commercial bumble bees.
Specifically, the signatories of this letter request that APHIS create rules prohibiting the movement of bumble bees outside of their native ranges and regulate interstate movement of bumble bee pollinators within their native ranges by requiring permits that show that bumble bees are certified as disease-free prior to movement.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter.
Sincerely,What you can do
Learn about pollinators in your area.
Contact your congressional representative about your support of the petition and contact Tom Vilsack.
Report your observations of key bumble bee species to the Xerces Society.
Please contact us and send a photo if you have observed the western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis), Franklin’s bumble bee (Bombus franklini), the rusty-patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis), or the yellowbanded bumblebee (Bombus terricola), so that we can piece together the current distribution of these bees. If you do research on bumble bees, have incidental bumble bees in your collection, or have student insect collections from the past few years, it would help us to know if you have or have not seen these bees. It is as important for us to document where these bees were formerly common, but not recently collected, as it is to document where they were collected. Please visit the individual species pages to see the former range of each of these bees.
If you have seen a bumble bee nest, please take a few minutes to fill out a survey about your observations. The results of this survey will increase our understanding of bumble bee nesting biology.
Bumble bees: rusty-patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis)
The rusty-patched bumble bee is an eastern bee whose workers have a small rust-colored patch on the middle of their second abdominal segment. This bee was once commonly distributed throughout the east and upper Midwest of the United States, but has steeply declined in recent years. The rusty-patched bumble bee is an excellent pollinator of wildflowers, cranberries, and other important crops, including plum, apple, alfalfa and onion seed.
Please contact us if you have any records of the rusty-patched bumble bee from the last 10 years. If you do research on bumble bees, have incidental bumble bees in your collection, or have student insect collections from the past few years, it would help us to know if you have or have not seen these bees. It is as important for us to document where these bees were formerly common, but not recently collected, as it is to document where they were collected.
Bumble bees: yellowbanded bumble bee (Bombus terricola)
The yellowbanded Bumble Bee is a northeastern bee whose workers have a characteristic fringe of brownish-yellow hairs on their fifth abdominal segment. This bee was once commonly distributed throughout the east and upper Midwest of the United States and throughout most of southern Canada, but has steeply declined in recent years. The yellowbanded Bumble Bee is an excellent pollinator of potatoes, alfalfa, plants in the rose family (such as raspberries), and cranberry, as well as a wide variety of wildflowers and other crops.
Please contact us if you have any information on the current or recent distribution of the yellowbanded Bumble Bee. If you do research on bumble bees, have incidental bumble bees in your collection, or have student insect collections from the past few years, it would help us to know if you have or have not seen these bees. It is as important for us to document where these bees were formerly common, but not recently collected, as it is to document where they were collected.
Bumble bees: Franklin’s bumble bee (Bombus franklini)
(Hymenoptera: Apidae: Apinae: Bombini: Bombus sensu stricto)
Original profile prepared by Dr. Robbin Thorp, University of California- Davis. This profile has been updated by Sarah Foltz, Scott Black, Sarina Jepsen, and Elaine Evans, The Xerces Society.
Known only from southern Oregon and northern California between the Coast and Sierra-Cascade Ranges, Franklin’s bumble bee has the most restricted range of any bumble bee in the world. Its entire distribution can be covered by an oval of about 190 miles north to south and 70 miles east to west. Populations of Franklin’s bumble bee have declined precipitously since 1998; this bee is in imminent danger of extinction. Franklin’s bumble bee was readily found throughout its range throughout the 1990s, but subsequent yearly surveys by Dr. Robbin Thorp have suggested this bee is nearly extinct. No Franklin’s bumble bees were observed during surveys in 2004, 2005, 2007, or 2008, and only a single worker was found in 2006. Threats to this species include: 1) Exotic diseases introduced via trafficking in commercial bumble bee queens and colonies for greenhouse pollination of tomatoes; 2) Habitat loss due to destruction, degradation, conversion; and 3) Pesticides and pollution.
Bumble bees: western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis)
The western bumble bee was once very common in the western United States and western Canada. The workers have three main color variations. These bees can still be found in the northern and eastern parts of their historic range, but the once common populations from southern British Columbia to central California have nearly disappeared. This bumble bee is an excellent pollinator of greenhouse tomatoes and cranberries, and has been commercially reared to pollinate these crops. In the past, it has also been an important pollinator of alfalfa, avocado, apples, cherries, blackberries, and blueberry.
Please contact us if you have any information on the current or recent distribution of the western bumble bee. If you do research on bumble bees, have incidental bumble bees in your collection, or have student insect collections from the past few years, it would help us to know if you have or have not seen these bees. It is as important for us to document where these bees were formerly common, but not recently collected, as it is to document where they were collected.
Grow a bee friendly, pollinator's garden. Don't use pesticides and herbicides in your garden.
An excellent site the describes how to make a bee friendly garden is found here.
Build a bumble bee nest box. Instructions are found here.
The National Academy of Science National Research Council’s report on the Status of Pollinators in North America notes that bumble bees can be negatively affected by many pesticides and that ground-nesting bumble bees are uniquely susceptible to pesticides that are used on lawns or turf (National Research Council 2007). Foraging bees are poisoned by pesticides when they absorb the fast-acting toxins through their integument (the outer “skin� that forms their exoskeleton), drink contaminated nectar, or gather pesticide-covered pollen or micro-encapsulated poisons. Pesticide drift from aerial spraying can kill 80% of foraging bees close to the source and drift can continue to be dangerous for well over a mile (Johansen and Mayer 1990). Insecticide application on Forest Service managed public lands for spruce budworm has been shown to cause massive kills of bumble bees and reduce pollination of nearby commercial blueberries in New Brunswick (reviewed in Kevan & Plowright 1995). Insecticides applied in the spring when bumble bee queens are foraging and colonies are small are likely to have a more significant effect on bumble bee populations than insecticides that are applied at other times of the year (Goulson et al. 2008). The relatively recent and increased use of persistent neonicotinoid pesticides, known to be highly toxic to bees, may pose an increased threat to bumble bees in the subgenus Bombus (Colla and Packer 2008). These and other pesticides may be translocated through plants into the nectar or pollen. In addition to insecticides, broad-spectrum herbicides used to control weeds can indirectly harm bumble bees by removing the flowers that would otherwise provide the bees with pollen and nectar (Williams 1986; Shepherd et al. 2003, Smallidge & Leopold 1997). Bumble bees require consistent sources of nectar, pollen, and nesting material during the adult activity period, and reduction of these resources by herbicides can cause a decline in bumble bee reproductive success and/or survival rates. For example, Kevan (1999) found that herbicide applications have reduced the reproductive success of blueberry pollinators by limiting alternative food sources that can sustain the insects when the blueberries are not in bloom.
Update: Sample Letter written by Warren S
Dear Representative Markey, Senator Kerry and Senator Brown,
A recent report from the National Academy of Sciences, "Patterns of widespread decline in North American bumble bees" (Authors: Sydney A. Cameron, Jeffrey D. Lozier, James P. Strange, Jonathan B. Koch, Nils Cordes, Leellen F. Solter, and Terry L. Griswold) outlines in disturbing detail the declining population of bumble bees in our country and on our continent.
Among the authors' findings:
"...the relative abundances of four species have declined by up to 96% and that their surveyed geographic ranges have contracted by 23–87%, some within the last 20 years.
We also show that declining populations have significantly higher infection levels of the microsporidian pathogen Nosema bombi and lower genetic diversity compared with co-occurring populations of the stable (nondeclining) species. Higher pathogen prevalence and reduced genetic diversity are, thus, realistic predictors of these alarming patterns of decline in North America, although cause and effect remain uncertain."
While "cause and effect remain uncertain" it seems overwhelmingly likely that much of the population decline was triggered by a disease organism in populations of commercially raised bumble bees, which had been distributed for greenhouse pollination in the western U.S.
Indigenous pollinators are integral to our country's agriculture, and thus to its food supply. When whole populations of some of the most industrious and effective insects decline so precipitously, it bodes ill for all of us.
Just under a year ago, a group of concerned scientists sent a petition to Agriculture Secretary Vilsack; the opening paragraph read:
The undersigned scientists respectfully request that the USDA-APHIS take action to regulate the movement and health of commercial bumble bees in order to safeguard wild, native bumble bee pollinators.
I am attaching a copy of the petition for your records. I wish to go on record as strongly supporting the petition's aims and goals, and I sincerely request you to do the same.
While the decline in native pollinating insect populations is not, strictly speaking, a "climate-change" issue, it is another aspect of the same problem: human beings have been interfering with beautifully functioning natural systems for the sake of profits. How much more of this can we (our species, our planet) take?
Yours Sincerely,
WarrenS
Please copy this letter and send it to your congresscritters.
Tags: eKos, environment, bees, bumble bees, honey bees, conservation, biology, science, teaching, ecology, recommended (all tags) :: Previous Tag Versions
Oscar and Lucinda - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Oscar and Lucinda Author Peter Carey Cover artist Pierre Le Tan Country Australia Language English Genre(s) Novel Publisher University of Queensland Press Publication date 1988 Media type Print (Hardback, Paperback) Pages 528 pp ISBN 0-7022-2116-3 OCLC Number 21002433 LC Classification MLCM 91/08820 (P) PR9619.3.C36 Preceded by Illywhacker Followed by The Tax Inspector Oscar and Lucinda is a novel by Peter Carey, which won the 1988 Booker Prize, and the 1989 Miles Franklin Award.
Contents
[hide][edit] Plot introduction
It tells the story of Oscar Hopkins, the Cornish son of a Plymouth Brethren minister who becomes an Anglican priest, and Lucinda Leplastrier, a young Australian heiress who buys a glass factory. They meet on the boat over to Australia, and discover that they are both obsessive gamblers. Lucinda bets Oscar that he cannot transport a glass church from Sydney to a remote settlement at Bellingen, some 400 km up the New South Wales coast. This bet changes both their lives forever.
[edit] Inspiration
The novel partly takes its inspiration from Father and Son, the autobiography of the English poet Edmund Gosse, which describes his relationship with his father, Philip Henry Gosse.
[edit] Film
A film version released in 1997 was directed by Gillian Armstrong and starred Ralph Fiennes, Cate Blanchett, and Tom Wilkinson.
[edit] External links
- Peter Carey discusses Oscar and Lucinda on the BBC World Book Club
- Oscar and Lucinda at the National Film and Sound Archive
- Oscar and Lucinda at IMDB
Awards and achievements Preceded by
Moon TigerMan Booker Prize recipient
1988Succeeded by
The Remains of the DayPreceded by
Dancing on CoralMiles Franklin Award recipient
1988Succeeded by
Oceana FineRetrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_and_Lucinda"
Call The Sheriff - We Need Order In The Sugar Market! (SGG)
Source: -->If you have been participating in the sugar rally of 2010, it has likely been an exhilarating, possibly quite profitable, and at times, downright scary ride. Sugar prices started the year off strong, before taking a big dip in late Winter and Spring.
The market found its lows during the Summer months, and in July a massive rally got underway with a slight uptick in prices. By Fall, sugar prices had exploded and were hitting new highs on an almost daily basis.
Then in November, inevitably, sugar futures plunged the most in one day in 22 years as global commodity markets were slammed on fears about an imminent Chinese rate hike. That day, it turns out, was an excellent buying opportunity, as Sugar roared back to new highs by the end of December.
It appears that a new correction is underway, however, as Sugar futures are plummeting to start the new year. During Thursday's trading session, Sugar #11 contracts have slid 5.19%. The iPath Dow Jones - UBS Sugar Subindex Total Return ETN (NYSE: SGG) has lost 5.55% to $88.18.
Just a few days ago, the SGG hit a high of $101.30 before another wave of volatility swept over the global sugar market. The violence of the recent moves are a testament to just how powerful the move in the sweet commodity has been.
Only time will tell if this most recent sell-off is another buying opportunity, but considering the ongoing rally in global commodity markets, and the fundamental tightness in the sugar market, this ETF may be worth a shot from the long side.
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