Because deer are also invasive and aren’t needed for cattle breeding. Not a great analogy

You couldn’t be more reich about that

Apis mellifera is a much better pollinator for most cultivars produced by agriculture around the world, so it’s been introduced into East, South and Southeast Asia too (and it’s pretty closely related to Apis cerana anyway, and they get along OK).

Also, you’re not accounting for species uniqueness, which is highest in Australia/NZ/PNG, southern Africa and parts of South America. These places also have native bees that are outcompeted and outright attacked by Eurobees.

The truth is complicated, but also simple - this invasive species we tolerate and even introduce because it massively benefits food production for humans.

Varroa mite has entered the chat

They worked out four-crop rotation during the agrarian revolution in the 18th century, they haven’t let fields lie fallow since they worked out how to rejuvenate the soil with crops like turnips that could become horse feed…

Borlaug’s green revolution of the mid-20th century did lead to a rapid reduction in famines across Asia and Africa…

They might just be in a better climate than you! I had far more delicious sun-ripened tomatoes over the summer than I could eat. More than six plants to be fair, but most self-seeded anyway.

It depends how you measure it, and what counts as ‘polluting’. Does broad-scale habitat destruction count? Because there’s a lot more of that in industrial agriculture. Also yields are prioritised over quality, so you’re literally not comparing apples with apples if you’re getting local heirloom varieties from nearby orchards, compared with apples grown in the PNW for the broader market and kept chilled until ready for sale. These are generalisations of course and there are staple crops that are much more efficient when produced with broadacre cropping.

I appreciated this comment, that’s a great show and tell story.

I think the term of art these days is that you have a ‘trains agenda’

I only had it a few times in Australia but I didn’t like it, it tasted very different from the other colas.

No need for that sort of insult. We’re talking about water here for fuck’s sake.

Sounds like you have hard water

Vitamin C is ascorbic acid, but otherwise agree

A better quote

It was clear from context what was meant, i.e. torrenting copyrighted content. Let’s not be disingenuous about this.

Interesting, so it’s a Yiddish variant of Scheißer?

Yesterday

Cursèd Saracens did spoil my day

Give us strength to crush those hordes, I pray

Oh, I believe in Huns to slay

I dunno, sounds like a solid Anglo-Saxon name, like Æthelstan.

JR pass massive price hike recently