Lux Investing

How can I invest to make money given the collapse of bee populations?

The highly educated will know that an environmental catastrophe is at hand with the so-called 'Colony Collapse Syndrome' causing the mass dissappearance of bee colonies throughout the world. The precise cause of this is unknown. In the short term honey supplies will become limited, in the slightly longer term (only slightly) agricultural yields can be impacted since bees pollinate crops. I know this is a disaster - but how can I make money on it in the stock market? Search the term 'Colony Collapse' to learn more. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7388742&ft=1&f=1001

Public Comments

1. Monsanto. They produce food and seeds, most of it being engineered.
2. Since a collapse in bee production would ultimately lead to a collapse of world food crops without a replacement source of pollination, you could theoretically benefit from having locked in a futures contract on the delivery of a crop, like corn, wheat, etc. If there's a big scarcity, prices will escalate. Two big problems with this, though. There would first have to be a contract long enough to realize the benefit, and futures generally don't go out more than 12 months. But even if you could find a much longer term contract that would be enforceable, you'd have to be able to buy into it well before the future scarcity started being reflected in market prices. The market moves quickly to reflect anticipated changes, so you'd pretty much have to outsmart the rest of the world. I've thought of this, too. But I think a more pragmatic way of thinking out this scenario is that you could at least secretly stock up on non-perishable food so that you don't go broke trying not to starve if this bee thing does happen.
3. First Honey is not traded anywhere on the commodities markets. As a former beekeeper of 20 years, the answer is simple, if you have lots of dry storage space. Buy Honey from your local beekeepers. The big Honey packers buy direct from the beekeepers. The large producers pack and store in 55 gallon drums that weigh about 700 lbs. so unless you have equipment to move 700 lb. drums go for the 60 lb plastic buckets. Go to your local magazine stand and get an American Bee Journal Magazine. They will have retail & wholesale prices of Honey. In the back of the book is a classified section. This is where you can see who is selling and who is buying. If you have a garage or basement you should be able to store 60 lb. buckets. If you want to sell bottled Honey invest about $1000 in the equipment you need from Dadent & sons who are listed in the magazine I just recommended. You can eventually pour in your kitchen, for a small operation. If you want to save the Honey till the price rises,,,,it keeps indifinately in a dry place When I started, retail bottled Honey sold for about $1.00 per lb. now it's about $5.00 per lb. Good Luck! **********************************************