On Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:57:52 -0600, Bob Harrison 
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>
>Prove to me your honey is better. Talk is cheap!
>
>Bob

Better is relative but ts not too hard to be better then packing house 
slum.

My honey is different then grocery store honey… a lot different. I'm not 
organic, don’t call my products organic and do not use strips, 
antibiotics or any practices I consider non-sustainable.  I do believe 
that organic/natural methods fit my situation trying to make a full time 
living with a modest number of colonies and financial leverage. I’m in 
control of my future and not subject to the whims of the wholesale 
honey market. They also fit my value system.

But perceived or real "better" is not the only criteria which comes into 
play in today’s food markets. The organic and natural food movement 
is a value system that encompasses many issues. 

People want to know where their food is coming from and how it was 
produced.  If you were Joe or Jane Consumer and had a choice, 
would you rather support an industry which uses annual chemical 
treatments, overuse of antibiotics and moves bee hives across the 
nation spreading pests, disease and now AHB genetics? 

This mass movement of hives appears to be an almost last ditch 
survival mode operation since the domestic honey industry is on the 
verge of collapse. 

That’s where the term sustainable farming comes into play. I 
personally don't believe that the current state of commercial 
beekeeping is sustainable, good for our environment or for the 
honeybee's long term existence. 

If as a consumer you could purchase products which keep a small 
farm in business and that farm runs a sustainable operation without 
the use of chemicals and survival mode practices would that not 
sound appealing? 

My opinion could be used to describe the beef, dairy, poultry or any 
segment of the farm industry not just honey. Feedlot beef versus 
grass fed free range? growth hormone milk versus non, free range 
poultry versus industrial chicken Yuk!!!!!!!?  I would not feed my dog 
some of that stuff. 

When you suggest its all about the money conventional farming is all 
about the commodity houses (Cargil, ConAgra, some not all large 
honey packers)  who are screwing the producer out of their fair share 
of the pie.

To me sustainable farming also includes the ability to make a decent 
living.  The idea that food should be cheap has been ruinous to our 
heritage and environment in this country.

We pay a big price in this country for having 69 cent per pound 
hamburger and $2.50 a gallon milk and 1 pound honey bears for 
$1.99. 

Its put a lot of hard working, honest people out of business, ruined 
rural communities and lined the pockets of the big boys . So I just 
don't see the glory in conventional farming practices and my sense is 
more and more Americans are feeling the same way.

If you don't think folks don't buy tennis shoes, clothes and groceries 
with criteria that is not cost driven you are simply out of touch my 
friend. 

And yes most of my customers are suburbanites living in a big city  
which coincidently that’s where most of the people in this country live 
in now in 2006…the city. So whether a farmer buys my honey or not is 
of no concern to me since they make up a rather small portion of the 
consumer pool. 

Many conventional farmers here in the Midwest eat meat and dairy 
products full of antibiotics and growth hormones and other heavily 
processed foods. I guess that just proves that they believe the PR 
campaign put forth by big agribusiness.  I feel sorry for them, they’re 
practices of keeping feedlots and overproduction of corn and 
soybeans does nothing to promote a clean environment and a healthy 
rural economy.  They 've become pawns in the agribusiness food 
chain relegated to going through the motions which are dictated by 
some guy in a suit 100’s of miles away.

Here in Mn we are fighting a campaign by Big Agribusiness to take 
away local township control when it comes to approving feedlots and 
make it a state approval. Great lets now take away the rights of tax 
paying citizens to decide how their own back yard is governed so big 
business can have their way and their profits and eventually put more 
farmers out of business. 

This is just a sampling of some of the politics of conventional 
"agribusiness" farming versus sustainable/organic/natural which is 
going on in the minds of consumers.  Making a pound of honey is not 
the point , the point is how its done and what are the consequences of 
the production process.

p.s. the natural and organic food segment is growing at 20-25% per 
year , apparently someone does not think its ridiculous (except 
perhaps some beekeepers). 

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