NPR reports on honey

NPR's "Morning Edition" travels to Lancaster, Pa.'s Dutch Gold Honey to explore the problem of suspicious imported honey.

Give the gift of honey(bees) this season

It doesn't take a wise man or woman to realize how delightful it is to give locally produced honey this holiday season. Especially in light of recent news questioning the safety of Big Honey - in short, real honey has pollen, and if it doesn't have pollen, it might not actually be entirely honey - buying honey that isn't afraid of showing where it's from is a tasty idea, not to mention good for local businesses and economies and good for you.
But - perish the thought - what if your recipients start rolling their eyes at another jar of liquid gold? Besides reminding them that honey is better than fruitcake, what else can you do to show your love of honey and their "producers," honeybees?
Two charities offer a terrific alternative - you can give honeybees! In doing so, you are helping people in the developing world. Heifer International is probably more widely known for allowing people to "give" livestock such as cows and goats to families and farmers around the world as a means toward building a better life. Less known is the fact that you also can give honeybees, for only $30.
Kiva, on the other hand, is riding the rising tide of micro-lending, loaning funds to budding entrepreneurs around the world who need a hand in getting a business off the ground, or maybe off the mat. The idea is that if lots of people give a little money, lots of good can come from it.
(Full disclosure: I have participated in both of these. My partner gave me money last February to donate to Kiva, and I just made my second loan, this one to an Armenian farmer who is trying to expand his cattle and beekeeping business. Additionally, I "bought" honeybees from Heifer in honor of my best friend's birthday.)
Heifer has offered honeybee gifts for more than a decade, according to Tim Wheeler, who works in Heifer's office in Honduras. In an email response to a series of questions, he said they range in locations from Lituania to Latin America, with about 1,000 families in Honduras alone.
"With forty hives, I have heard a farm family makes about $4,000-6,000 gross on the conservative side. Half would be profit," he wrote.
Wheeler said that some of the Heifer participants are already beekeepers, while others receive training in advance of receiving their hives, and then receive ongoing training afterward from local farming cooperatives in which they participate.
"Heifer staff does followup and monitoring of projects on a regular basis," Wheeler wrote. "The local partner, often a co-op, provides technical assistance, has supplies available, and a micro credit program. Farmers have to pass on the value of the hive that they receive with either honey or the cash equivalent for another farmer."
Heifer also has worked with beekeepers in the United States - it recently partnered with the Clinch Valley Beekeepers Association in East Tennessee, where a grant enabled officers and other leaders of the organization to gain more training from the University of Tennessee's extension office.
Heifer beekeepers operate their hives both on their own properties and on local farms.
"The most successful rent out hives to pollinate crops and move them two to three times a year, increasing honey production that way," Wheeler wrote. "There is a dry and wet season in the tropics and subtropical areas, so moving them helps to feed them with seasonal flowering of tress and flowers."
Wheeler said he has not heard of problems with these honey producers and the larger issue of so-called "honey-laundering," instances where large suppliers and exporters blend or dilute their honey with other substances or even go so far as to mislabel them as being from other points of origin, often to avoid heavy U.S. tariffs.
"[Selling their products] is done through their co-op," Wheeler wrote. "One example is a co-op of 110 members who sell in the local and national market in supermarkets.
"Others sell at farmer's markets. I haven't heard of any problems of honey laundering. Probably the scale of these projects would mean that they tie into the concept of local markets and sustainable livelihoods that is promoted in the programs."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm awaiting word from Kiva on its honey and beekeeping opportunities, but I wanted to share this with you in time for the holiday. Meanwhile, a quick search on Kiva's website shows several Armenian farmers seeking funding for their beekeeping operations.
--
For more information about giving the gift of honeybees, visit Heifer's website; for more info on helping developing beekeeping entrepreneurs, visit Kiva online.
--
Photo shows a Heifer beekeeper (photo courtesy of Heifer).

Your town is full of bees

A colleague at work sent me this link, from a website called "The Atlantic Cities," to a story that reminds us that bees are everywhere.

New Jersey's official beekeeper

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on New Jersey's official state apiarist

Bees rescued from tree torn apart by Irene

The New York Times writes about a bee rescue after Hurricane Irene ripped apart a tree. Things got a bit testy as rival beekeeping groups set their sites on the feral hive.

Chefs spicing up honey, recipes

I woke up today to a great package of stories from the Chicago Tribune, on how top chefs are using honey, and spicing it up with such "additives" as peppercorns and gin.
It's a great read: Here's the lead story; plus a sidebar on the increase in local hives and new recipes and some "concoctions" by chefs.

New study shows how pesticides can kill already diseased bees

This study shows how bees already sickened by Nosema ceranae that ingest non-lethal doses pesticides die. This link is an abstract, while this is the full paper.

Courtesy of Short Order, a Miami food blog: Honey mustard dressing and mead (though not necessarily together)

Thanks to a new site I found (and am now following at @Short_Order, here are some tasty links to stories about honey, which includes a honey mustard dressing, and about mead.

Beyond the Hive: Wind turbines deadly for bats

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes about how bats (and birds) are being killed by wind turbines throughout Pennsylvania. Bats typically save Pa. farmers an estimated $277 million a year in "avoided costs," so the bat losses are hurting the food on your plate, too. Here is a link to the original report.

Farm subsidies list

The Environmental Working Group has put out an interactive map of those farmers (and many non-farmers) who received government subsidies.

Joe Sixpack: Honey + hops = beer

My favorite beer writer, Joe Sixpack of (my employer) the Philadelphia Daily News, extols the virtues of honey beer in his latest column.

Beyond The Hive: Roundup said to cause birth defects

A newly discovered/released report shows how authorities have known for years that Roundup causes birth defects in laboratory animals.
An interesting note within this link is criticism from a professor that the active ingredient in Roundup also ends up making plants more vulnerable to disease, which, hmmm, let me guess, might force consumers to buy Monsanto's ready-made, genetically modified, "disease-resistant" plants. It is a vicious - and I mean vicious - circle.

Honey production in Philadelphia

This is from Newsworks, a public media production, about Philadelphia honey production.

Beyond The Hive: Your White House garden on tax subsidies

Not sure of the origin of this, but it makes for an interesting map. (I include the link to give props to whoever posted it.) It shows how the current White House kitchen garden is laid out, and what that garden would look like if it represented the crops subsidized by tax dollars.

Honey and capitalism

A couple of interesting reports today. The Boston Herald notes that the price of honey is skyrocketing, while the Washington Post gardening columnist writes about the high costs of shrinking bee populations.

Beyond The Hive (though hives could be included): A vote for home "victory gardens"

A gardening columnist at the Washington Post says home gardens represent a victory against agribusiness, and for those who create them. Meanwhile, I cannot help but think bees will benefit, too.

Bees used in pesticide research are stolen

Bees being studied for the impact of pesticides were stolen from the research lab.

Beyond the Hive: New Associated Press Stylebook's food section

For those interested in food writing, here's an article on why the Associated Press decided to add a separate section on food in its stylebook.

More on "Beekeeper's Lament"

The book by Hannah Nordhaus makes the Christian Science Monitor's top 20 list of non-fiction titles to read this summer, coming in at a respectable No. 7.
Book editor Marjorie Kehe writes:

Commercial beekeeping is under siege from many directions in the 21st century, as journalist Hannah Nordhaus reveals in her fascinating glimpse into the life of a commercial beekeeper. (May)

Bears destroying honey colonies

Here's a report from Florida about a beekeeper who had a bear of a problem with keeping colonies.

New book: "Beekeeper's Lament"

Here's some news about a "How One Man and Half a Billion Honey Bees Help Feed America." The book features John Miller, a commercial beekeeper who travels around the country providing pollinators for farms that don't have them. The author is Hannah Nordhaus.

New report reveals continued honey-bee loss over last winter

The full report won't be available until later this year, but preliminary data show continued loss of honey-bee colonies. Among the findings, losses overall (from all causes) were about 30 percent over the 2010/2011 winter. The study was a joint production by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Apiary Inspectors of America. This article notes that such losses hit small, individual operators the worst, because a loss of only five colonies is huge for someone who began with only 10. The news release from the USDA can be found here. The abstract of the report is available here; this site includes links to prior surveys, but a place to sign up to be counted in the future. You can listen to an audio report here.

Foreign Policy: The Food Issue

I just picked it up this afternoon, and cannot wait to get immersed in it. Meanwhile, you can listen to the author of the lead story, Lester Brown, speak with Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air.

From China, the country that brought you tainted honey... exploding watermelons

Watermelons "treated" (overtreated?) with growth chemicals are now exploding like land mines.

Farm Aid 2011 announces date (8.13), location (Kansas City, Kansas)

Willie Nelson, John Mellancamp and friends will set up shop this summer in the heart of the flood-devastated Midwest -- Kansas City, Kansas -- on August 13.

Blake Shelton

Beyond the Hive: Blake Shelton's feel-good honey video of the summer

Yeah, it's just a country song, but lots of eye candy in the form of honey in his new video.

Why North Dakota leads US in honey production

For starters, the summers are not scorchers; for another, there is a good mix of crops, clover, etc., to help the bees create good honey. Man cannot live on Twinkies alone; bees cannot live on mono-crops.

Beyond The Hive: Help Stamp Out Hunger

Here's a reminder for you to leave food with your mail carriers on May 14, and help stamp out hunger.

Writer in Los Alamos, New Mexico, touts meadmaking

The writer talks about mead as a pleasant alternative to wine, and offers some advice on making it.

Honey production strong in California

Honey producers in California say that their bees are healthy again, that abundant rainfall has produced more flowers for bees to visit and that a tightening honey supply from the rest of the world means times are good.

Baking with honey

Interested in baking with honey? The National Honey Board offers some help.

Beyond The Hive: New line of food "pigments"

Remember when nature made all the flavors and colors of food we consumed? Sensient Technologies, a global manufacturer and marketer of colors, flavors and fragrances, has come up with a new "pigment range" to provide food with a more natural appearance. According to the company website, when they are not manufacturing food colors and flavors, they make cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and printing ink.

Beyond The Hive: If it looks like propaganda about high fructose corn syrup, and smells like propaganda ...

The Corn Refiners Association has put out a series of graphs that show how certain (unnamed) products dropped in sales after high fructose corn syrup was removed as an ingredient. There's so much wrong with these charts, which the ill-educated could take as gospel. First, they might have substituted the wrong sweetener, artificial or othewise, to take the place of HFCS. More important, it's hard to think of products that did not experience declines in sales over the last couple of years during the recession. Finally, we don't know what other factors might have contributed to the decline, such as recalls, rises in prices that turned off consumers, poor distribution, or maybe the TV commercials sucked.

Authorities in Oregon seize counterfeit honey

Authorities found 10,000 gallons of counterfeit honey from a warehouse in Salem, Oregon.

Utah, New York, Nebraska eye honey standards

There's an interesting trend developing here, with lawmakers in Utah, New York and Nebraska all considering measures to set honey ID standards.

USDA releases honey data: Production up 20% in last year

The newest report from the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Services shows that honey production in the United States was up 20 percent in 2010 over the previous year, and that prices rose to a record high of $1.60.3 per pound. Full details here, and I'll have more next week, as I have a chance to review the data.

National Honey Report

Just came across this report, from about a week ago, the monthly National Honey Report for January 2011.

Another suspected 'honey launderer' busted

Federal authorities have charged another foreigner with trying to evade duties by masking Chinese honey as that from other countries.

Smartphones as hive monitors?

Researchers in the UK say smartphone apps can help monitor the activity inside beehives.

Honey and genetically modified crops

Bloomberg reports that honey produced near Monsanto's genetically modified maize could face increased scrutiny and limits from the European Union.

Feature from Ohio paper about inferior honey

Ohio beekeepers tell the Daily Jeffersonian that the problem of "adulterated" honey has been getting worse, as demand for honey rises and production in the United States declines.

Beyond The Hive: Winter taking huge toll on farmers

The heavy, and constant, snowfalls have killed livestock, destroyed buildings on farms.

Meadfest is under way!

Well, not quite yet, but entry information is available for the 2011 festival in Boulder, Colorado.

Deadline Monday for feds to aid in livestock loss

Most folks probably assume cows and chickens when they think of livestock loss because of weather and other disasters, but honeybees qualify as well. Monday is the deadline to apply for damages sustained in 2010. It seems that state agriculture departments have info, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture also has information on appliying for ELAP (Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, & Farm - raised Fish Program).

Early harvest prevents toxic honey

Bees who collect nectar from the toxic tutu bush in New Zealand also produce a toxic honey, so beekeepers are harvesting early to prevent the disastrous situation.

Report: Bees on decline in United States

The Guardian is reporting a sharp decline in bees, as they join other species suffering around the world.

(Slightly) Beyond The Hive: Food Trends for 2011

Atop Mother Nature News' list for the coming year is that chefs will become chummy with local beekeepers. Sounds like a plan.