Love the response Jacqueline. Here's a reflection I formulated in response to Flow Hives as being a symptom of a much deeper systemic problem... Would be curious to hear your thoughts on this reflection! There seem to be many parallels between your views (especially the last few) and some ideas I express below.
Following the introduction of the Flow Hive concept, I have definitely come to appreciate all of the talk about bees & their precious contributions to life on earth! When I first heard about the Flow Hive concept, I too was very excited. Not only would this product spread interest in beekeeping, I thought, but it would also be far less stressful on the bees. Win-win, right? After much reflection, I now think my original thoughts on the matter were somewhat shallow and deluded in a sense; and I believe they are thoughts which signify a much deeper systemic problem we, as humans, face.
The main marketing agenda for this product is to produce "honey on tap" without opening (and therefore stressing out) the honey bee hive. This product is a response to the question: "How do we get honey from bees with less stress on the hive?" (a question inspired by, I think, our philosophically-deflated Western education). This question assumes that we should be in the hive in the first place, and that our current harvesting and consumption of honey is sustainable (to say the least).
The question that I want to look at really closely and deeply is: What is it that we are seeking from honeybees in the first place? Is honey all we're looking for? If so, then I think this means/ends "relationship" is in large part a symptom of the larger systemic issue that humanity faces today.
When we subjugate nature to our needs without consideration of other species and forms of life, not only are the detrimental consequences to those species and life forms embarrassingly obvious; but, what's more, is that in the process we forget one very important experiential truth: we ARE nature. When we ignorantly suppress other life forms and species for our own "benefit" (the idea what has been "beneficial" in human history is also up for debate), we also blindly subjugate ourselves to alienation and separation from our deepest nature. If we see honeybees as merely a means to an ends, then this is also how we'll view ourselves. If we remove them from their natural state and give them monotonous plastic foundations as their homes, then we weaken their immune systems and their potential for progress as a species.... And the same goes for us humans.
Rather, I would like to view honeybees as not a means to an end or end in themselves; but rather as a vital strand holding together this symbiotically beautiful web of life on earth; and I would like to view humans as the same. Neither is intrinsically more or less important, and the whole "means/end" paradigm can dissipate into a mutual expression of life and creativity on earth. What is important is not humans or honeybees, but rather the relationships that exist between them (and all living things on earth) - the very relationship the Flow Hive intends to forgo. Relationships are crucial to existence and thriving on earth, whether they be the relationship of hive to hive, human to hive, or human to human; they are the fabric of our existence, and what hold time & space together. I think we should nurture them as much as humanly possible, and in return, we nurture ourselves as individuals and as a species. Thus, I'll keep my foundationless frames and my wooden box hive, and cherish my relationship with these -and all- loving creatures.
