Sometimes the third parties are counties, states, organic farming organizations, or foreign governments, but … That is because there are lot of gray areas for the casual honey shopper. Bees will fly significantly further than 4 miles in radius if they have to. Great and informative post! YS is Canadian and/or Brazilian honey, no? Of course, life in the honey factory is no picnic: conditions are cramped, turnover is high, deadly parasites and diseases run rampant, and the closest thing you get to time off is babysitting the boss’ kids! Though certification procedures are a nice idea, the honey industry is probably too small and far too separated geographically for this to be a cost effective approach. But it … This is an area of just over 78 square miles of potential forage for one hive. Yikes…You will find this is true of all certified organic honey in the US. But I noticed the other day that our supermarket has bulk honey. My problem is where do I order organic bees from so I can start more hives. THis is, sadly, true of all ‘organic’ products, not just honey. This is where the beekeeper comes in, and it is her job to keep the hive healthy in exchange for a sweet cut of the profits. The closest thing we have in the US to certified organic honey is, . Honey, mushrooms, and pet food may be certified to the current production and handling standards. If eating organic honey is very important to you, then you will have to source your honey from international sources. Interesting to think about. Period. I had no idea most beekeepers who rely on sales of honey for their business give the bees sugar & water to survive instead of their own honey. Note to self: Pitch cherry pie-flavored Round-Up to Monsanto, profit. We get our local honey from the same guy we get our grass fed beef from, Mill Road Farm. I knew I had organic honey in the cupboard, so I ran to check it when I read this! Again, while these characteristics are no guarantee of ethical beekeeping, their related farming practices are likely to be more sustainable, which is inherently better for the bees. Well I would eat the honey that my dad gets from his bees, but he lives in England and I currently live in Chicago! (which makes me really want to life the lid to see if there are really bee’s in there. I love my raw, organic honey, but I still want to try the manuka. Sugar water is typical, but corn syrup is the large grower standard. It's tough making sense of all the honey available. I feed them honey, not sugar, I don’t eat processed sugar, I don’t expect them to. The beehive’s quality control engineers evaporate all this dubious raw material down to whatever seems like a good sugar/water ratio, all the while mixing in a few bazillion enzymes, some pollen, a little yeast, a secret ingredient or two, and presto! How much do you know about the way it is made? The use of genetic engineering, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs), is prohibited in organic products. Terramycin for treating foulbrood disease, Who certifies your products? There are four categories of organic products that the USDA can certify: Crops: A plant that was grown to be harvested as food, livestock feed, fiber, or used to add nutrients to the field. But it is nearly impossible to produce organic honey. Our work and our projects changes the way industry members and consumers behave and perceive organics. What makes it even harder, is that it’s not just crops that get sprayed with pesticides these days. Increased Management Awareness of the Enterprise: Many conventional honeybee keepers are not aware of effective techniques to manage their apiaries. which is a common practice, at least where I come from 2. the bees should be kept to collect honey in an area that has no GMO crops grown and little to no industrial pollution, a really large organic farm/farms ideally. It is a strong standard for livestock and produce as well. In fact, it is arguably a better standard than the now-corrupted organic standard. I buy my honey raw at the local organic(ish) co-op. This is the most popular organic honey on Amazon and is sold by Whole Foods. Great post! They are allowing packers of imported honey to use the certification in a way that misleads consumers. I’ve been wanting to look into this further, so thanks for the info. This has the disadvantage of potentially high food miles. But you have to get here early or call ahead for honey, it goes quick every week he has it! the honey is not organic. After the agent reviews your application and decides that you're in compliance with NOP regulations and standards, your agent will … As of 2020, honey cannot be certified organic by the USDA. But, yes honey is probably the best thing. And if they are sell honey in January still… they are probably selling someone else’s. I hope evolution has made some sensor that GMO foods taste like the round-up crap in their genes. I get my honey from a person who personally uses organic methods, but she says she cannot control a 4 mile radius and therefore does not claim organic. I had never thought about the “organic” aspect of honey. Can anyone know for sure that the millions of flowers within a two-mile radius are all non-GMO and untouched by man-made chemicals? Raw Honey stands among the leading organic products whose value is greatly undermined. This is a reasonable and respectable goal for any beekeeper.Â. Because the NOP standards for livestock have no reference to a foraging radius (or anything else present in an organic apiculture standard) and no follow-up testing, most honey could indeed qualify as organic. Even then, it is possible that the organic certification from other countries may not be to the level you are hoping for. Organic means certified free of chemicals. Certified Organic Honey is a high quality honey with hygroscopic and antioxidant properties. So I know exactly who handles my honey and have even helped him before with the processing. Again, knowing the source of your honey helps with knowing how the bees are treated, but even the most stubborn beekeeper cannot force bees to stay in conditions they consider too crowded because bees will swarm when that happens, leaving the hive to find another location with a new queen. But, there is no standard, thus, even if one wanted to be “organic”, they can’t be. First, choose your organic certification agent. You are right. And we all know how confusing egg packaging can be. No, and even if you could, nothing is stopping your bees from taking a drink from the highway runoff or breathing in the polluted air. As an Amazon Associate, Foxhound Bee Company may earn from qualifying purchases. The best raw organic honey has many, many uses. So buying certified organic usually means importing honey. 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