No one knows how the moth was brought in. Many farmers suspect that this is the product of vine smuggling. "Agricultural officials say that had the European grapevine moth (Lobesia botrana) innocently evaded inspectors on a container ship, the first trapping of the grape eater would have been near a port. Instead the pest that has proliferated across European vineyards appeared last September in the heart of the region where fine cabernet can fetch hundreds of dollars a bottle." In other words, this contamination was most likely caused by human vine smuggling.
Who knew such a small bug could cause such huge problems for these farmers. But honestly the people who decided to break the law are the ones to blame. They decided to "cheat" by smuggling vines and taking shortcuts around the USDA, and because of this, Napa Valley has to deal with their problems. Whoever caused this mess is ruining their own business along with everyone else's.
10 comments:
While I agree with what you said about whoever causing this ruining their business along with everyone else's, I think it's worth mentioning that Napa Valley's wine market may not have reached the heights that it has if it hadn't been for this "suitcase smuggling" in the first place.
Just to clarify, I'm not defending their actions in any way shape or form, I just think it's interesting how the same actions that likely built up these businesses might just end up being their downfall as well.
this doesnt sound good. i hope the moth doesnt cause too much harm, since the economy around napa is dependent on the wine buisness. this just goes to show that there are regulations for a reason and working around them can end up just hurting your buisness in the end.
This is one of the major problems that comes with the advent of globalization. As it becomes easier to travel and import foreign goods, the risks of bringing in non-native species that can cause serious damage increases.
Without a native predator of this moth, I foresee a boom in the moth population and a decline in wine production. Hopefully the winemakers in Napa find a solution soon.
Victor H
This is definitely bad for the Napa Valley economics. I was briefly looking around [http://www.napavintners.com/downloads/Napa_Economic_Impact_Study.pdf] and found that it prospered in the 2001-2003 recession because it was capable of maintaining a "steady growth" of the "grape and vine sector." Furthermore, according to the same site, it might be bad for the economy as a whole because Napa Valley generate more than $800 million in taxes a year (estimated).
However, I agree with Victor on the point that it is definitely bad for Napa Valley with the moths feeding off of the plants as an invasive species.
I agree with Kasper and everyone else. Wine must have helped our economy with all those tax dollars. and with this moth around, there might be a decline in wine production. the difference in taxes might come out of our pockets.
Hopefully this moth won't cause any significant damage. if this moth is new to Napa, could there be a possible chance that it could affect the vines so that the production of wine is changed?
This sounds bad and I think it could maybe hurt the Napa economy as kasper stated. since we are kind of in a recession, this might hurt the napa economy even more since I people are probably not buying as much expensive wine. is there a good and effective way to remove the moths?
Talia, the moths can be "removed" using pesticides and chemicals which means extra costs for farmers. Even though this moth may be removed from the vineyards temporarily, I'm not sure if they can ever get rid of the species permanently. This just means the possibility of more chemicals in their product and and increased price for customers.
To "permanently" remove these moths, we need to implement a whole new ecosystem. Pesticides will only work temporarily, but what will help the farmers is the addition of a native predator specie. However, this is a risky move, and it will take the department of agriculture (or whatever department that is in charge of this) a long time to pass a legislative action.
There are a few biological ways of getting rid of the moths. We could find a way to disrupt their breeding or we could engineer a virus to devastate their population.
It's not too difficult to come up with ways to bring about their demise.
Mei Mei, the farmers do deserve to bear the cost of cleaning up the mess. If they didn't illegally smuggle in the vines, the moths would not be able to gain a foothold in Napa Valley in the first place.
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