As price of olive oil soars, chainsaw-wielding thieves target Mediterranean’s century-old trees

By DEREK GATOPOULOS
Associated Press

SPATA, Greece (AP) — In the Mediterranean’s olive-growing countries, the extreme weather caused by climate change is taking a toll. Drought in Spain is among factors that have taken a big toll on production of olive oil. And with prices soaring, that’s sparked a rise in thievery that can include cutting down entire trees that have been around for a century or more. In Italy’s southern Puglia region, growers are pleading with police to form an agriculture division. Greek farmers want to bring back a rural police division that was phased out in 2010. In Spain, a company has developed tracking devices that look like olives to try and catch thieves.