In a message dated 3/20/02 12:15:19 PM GMT Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:


> I find it hard to understand how industrially produced thymol (chemically,
> for example,  5-Methyl-2-(1-methylethyl)phenol - C10H14O) can be used to
> treat bees producing Organic honey.
>

I think perhaps you miss the point here. Max might come back in and offer the
correct terms in this as I am no chemist, but the treament uses pure
pharmacoiea (sp?) grade thymol, as found in plants, in a food grade gel.

Organic does not mean NO inputs. No inputs would mean little or no outputs
and would bring us into the model which an extremist person of the movement
once put to me that 'the change would be worth it even though it would mean
an 80%  reduction in population'.

Rather it means 'natural' inputs. This was defined to me in the most basic
terms by an organic farmer as 'if you can dig it out of the ground or extract
it from a plant or animal then it is organic'. This is irrespective of
whether the product is derived from natural or artificial sources, so long as
it is chemically the same. I have the regulations on my desk and this is
pretty well the case.

You will notice that 'natural' and 'safe' are of course not synonymous. Some
organic inputs are far more noxious, and persistent, than their conventional
equivalents. This is not how the food buying public perceive this issue but
the widely held idea that organic is automatically cleaner and safer is not
always correct. I have cited the use of certain substances on such as organic
carrots before, and some of these organic treatments are amongst the most
dangerous chemicals currently in use on farms. ie Copper arsenate.

However, back to the main game. Thymol, Formic acid, and Oxalic acid (and
others) ARE acceptable in organic systems, whether by instinct you feel they
should be is another issue altogether.

Murray