As price of olive oil soars, chainsaw-wielding thieves target Mediterranean's century-old trees
apnews.com
In the Mediterranean's olive-growing countries, the extreme weather caused by climate change is taking a toll.

SPATA, Greece (AP) — In an olive grove on the outskirts of Athens, grower Konstantinos Markou pushes aside the shoots of new growth to reveal the stump of a tree — a roughly 150-year-old specimen, he said, that was among 15 cut down on his neighbor’s land by thieves eager to turn it into money.

  • EmergMemeHologram@startrek.websiteEnglish
    94·
    1 year ago

    • I really blew it, didn’t I?

    • I mean, maybe you could have been a better role model when she was young, but also, she never really had a chance. This is what our celebrity culture does to people.

    • So what you’re saying is: Everything is society’s fault, and we as individuals never need to take responsibility for anything?

    • Uh, no. Not exactly. I was just saying that.

    • Yeah. I like that. I didn’t do anything wrong because I can’t do anything wrong because we’re all just products of our environment, bouncing around like marbles in the game of Hungry Hungry Hippos that is our random and cruel universe.

    • Wait, no, that’s not even what I’m saying …

    • Yeah. It’s not my fault. It’s society. Everything is because of society. Hooray! Everything is meaningless! Nothing I do has consequence!

    https://youtu.be/_KCUSGMHPNg?si=ChBiq6EHlp3eiuvl

    • KecessaEnglish
      214·
      1 year ago

      In the case where people are poor enough that it’s the kind of choice they have to resort to to live? Heck yeah society is the issue.

      • EmergMemeHologram@startrek.websiteEnglish
        10·
        1 year ago

        Most of the thefts are branches. When an entire tree is cut down, the thieves typically cut it up and load the pieces into a pickup truck, selling the wood to lumber yards or firewood vendors and taking the olives to an oil mill.

        “The (robbers) look for heavily loaded branches and they cut them,” said Neilos Papachristou, who runs an olive mill and nearby grove in a fourth-generation family business. “So, not only do they steal our olives, but they cause the tree serious harm. It takes 4-5 years for it to return to normal.”

        These are gangs killing and damaging trees to sell oil without any costs. This isn’t Jean Valjean stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family.

        They’re actually making it more expensive to buy olive oil.

        • KecessaEnglish
          216·
          1 year ago

          And why do gangs exist? Let’s go back to my first comment to try and figure that out… Oh, that’s right, social problems. Thanks for agreeing with me 👍

          • wildginger@lemmy.myserv.oneEnglish
            5·
            1 year ago

            It kinda seems like you think burning someones house and job down is justified if you steal while doing it

            Its like you dont even actually understand what the societal issues are, you just overheard an adult say something kind of like that once.

            • KecessaEnglish
              13·
              1 year ago

              It’s funny because if the victim was a known billionaire you wouldn’t be saying the same thing.

              • wildginger@lemmy.myserv.oneEnglish
                4·
                1 year ago

                If the victim was only robbed, and a billionaire, you mean?

                Killing a century old culturally signifigant tree is still a crime, and unjustified by theft.

                But yeah, bud, the fact that the cultural icon of a historic tree was also the livelihood of a different struggling worker makes it a worse crime, good job working that one out all on your lonesome.

                • KecessaEnglish
                  15·
                  1 year ago

                  If it’s that or starving you wouldn’t do any better bud.

                  • wildginger@lemmy.myserv.oneEnglish
                    51·
                    1 year ago

                    Youve had multiple other options explained to you that dont involve killing the tree, its clearly not kill the tree or starve

          • EmergMemeHologram@startrek.websiteEnglish
            51·
            1 year ago

            Because it’s easier to make money when you steal and have no costs than it is to build an orchard and work it.

            Do you think the Mafia was just like “we’ll stop doing crime when we’re not poor anymore?”

            If I leave a $50 bill on the table at a cafe or the library and go to the bathroom it’s not going to be there when I get back, someone will have taken it. It’s not because they were poor, it’s because someone could do so without consequences.