BioFach: 50,000 customers and no one there to talk to
About 50,000 people will visit the world's leading trade fair BioFach in Nuremberg from February 12 to 15, 2020, but they will not meet anyone at the stand of the company Reckhaus. The "insect killer and insect rescuer" doesn't want to stand around, but to take action, according to the stand signage.
In 2020, biocide manufacturer and insect pest farmer Reckhaus will leave its stand at the world's leading trade fair BioFach in Nuremberg unoccupied. "We're not standing around here, we're taking action," the empty stand screams to visitors.
"We would rather clarify our philosophy than explain product details," says Dr. Hans-Dietrich Reckhaus, initiator of Insect Respect and managing partner of Reckhaus GmbH & Co. KG. He himself is in Frankfurt this week instead of Nuremberg to explain to cooperation partners there why he is not in Nuremberg. With his Insect Respect team, he is organizing the next big meetings for insects, preparing publications and planning the next insect-friendly areas.
In a letter to visitors, which can be read at booth 7-214, Reckhaus describes how insects are indispensable for a good life on earth: 40% of all insect species are endangered, and in some regions their numbers have already declined by 80%.
"It's time to act instead of talk," the appeal goes, and everyone can join in: With insect patches on unused driveways, on the roof of warehouses, in industrial areas. Every square meter counts.
Less consumption as a trade fair message
It cannot be about more and more consumption of products, Reckhaus said. Rather, he said, entrepreneurs must be aware of the ecological and social impact of their products.
Warn products. As a consequence, Reckhaus has applied the warning "Product kills valuable insects" to its products - as the first biocide manufacturer worldwide.
Reckhaus is therefore striving for a new way of dealing with insects. The trigger for the company's change and the globally unique compensation model was the dialog and collaboration over several months with the Swiss concept artists Frank and Patrik Riklin. In 2011, they confronted Dr. Hans-Dietrich Reckhaus with the question: How much value does a fly have for you as an insect killer? Their demand: Save instead of kill.
The resulting counter-strategy led to a transformation process and the development of "Insect Respect". The culmination was the joint art action "Saving Flies in Deppendorf" (2012), which mobilized an entire village and took a housefly on a wellness vacation to Schloss Elmau with the world's first air ticket for an insect. Today, Reckhaus acts at the forefront of the insect lobby, writes books about the ambivalent relationship between humans and insects, plans to retrain his employees as landscape gardeners, and is transforming an entire industry.
Background: Insects
Humanity will not survive without insects
It is high time to respect insects - precisely because they are sometimes fought. The animals perform many valuable functions. Edward Wilson, the renowned American entomologist,
has calculated that humans could survive only a few months without insects. But the number and diversity of insects are declining dramatically: more than 40 % of species are endangered, and 5 %
extinct. In some areas of the German-speaking world, their numbers have declined by up to 80 %. (see e.g. study in PLOS One).
Ten good reasons to respect insects
1. ecosystem: insects give nature more resilience.
2. pollination: insects keep the plant world alive.
3rd cycle: Insects are an important part of the food chain.
4. forage and food: Insects secure the world's food supply.
5. hygiene: insects rid us of "garbage".
6. soils: insects make our earth fertile.
7. clothing: Insects are indispensable for textile production.
8. industry: insects produce chemicals.
Medicine 9: Cure insects.
10. research: insects are extremely valuable scientifically.
