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
    8·
    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.

    • Kecessa@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      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 👍

      • EmergMemeHologram@startrek.websiteEnglish
        31·
        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.