Hello all,
   I've been offline for a week or so as I've been moving. I'm glad to see
the "Honey, Labeling, Nutrition" thread has provoked some interesting
commentary.
   Regarding this new clay whitewash, I spoke to an organic apple orchardist
in northern New Hampshire who said that the great barrier to the creation of
an organic apple industry east of the Mississippi is the presence of the plum
curculio, a North American native species that can devastate apple orchards.
This is why most organic apples, I am told, are grown out West or are
imported.
   Michael Phillips, author of "The Apple Grower" on organic apple orcharding
(Chelsea Green), said he knows Eastern orchardists who would like to break
the green market but are stymied by the plum curculio. From memory, I think
he said thbe pest is currently controlled with an organophosphate. He said a
new breakthrough was coming that would open up an organic apple industry in
the East: clay. I haven't heard anything else about it since he said it to me
last year, so thanks for posting the info.
   Kim raises an interesting point though:
 <<Bees collect substances that are similar in size to pollen that are not
pollen...every experienced beekeeper has observed this behavior in sawdust
piles and bird feeders.>>
   As others have observed in previous threads, just because a substance is
labeled organic, it isn't necessarily benign in the environment. As the
scientists say, "More data is needed." If the use of clay becomes prevalent,
observant beekeepers should share their field notes about its effects.