Christine Gray wrote:

> From: "Bob Harrison" " I also believe that there is no such thing as organic
> honey."
>
>
> This smacks too much of trying to resist change - 'what I already sell is
> all anyone should need'.

I am with Bob. It is not any resistance to change, but an acknowledgment
that there really is no such thing as organic honey. There are
procedures to claim it is organic, but what differentiates it chemically
from other honey?

My concern with the whole issue of Organic Honey is first, there is no
way to tell Organic Honey apart from what comes out of my non-organic
hive. Second, it requires certification but there is little in the way
of continual inspection, since that costs money and there is little
incentive to recheck apiaries once they are certified.

I know there are beekeepers in Maine who will certainly get certified. I
know some who currently market their honey as organic, and I know what
they actually are doing and that honey is less organic than mine. But
how can you prove it?

Even with "organic" produce, Consumer Reports finds pesticide residue,
albeit in much lower percentages than non-organic. Yet the produce is
certified as organic. It could be over spray or contact contamination or
it could be fraud. That does not matter. Once certified, little follow-up.

With honey it is different. The potential for fraud is high in the whole
organic honey market. Tests of "organic" and "normal" honey have shown
no difference. That makes sense if the beekeeper is following label
directions and not starting honey production until well after the
pesticide is removed. In most cases application is in the fall, so the
time between treatments and supering can be 8-10 months. All the
treatments are in the brood chamber, not the supers, so they will remain
  very clean, even in a treated yard.

What then will stop those who are normally honest, but have a bad year
in their "organic" yard (Varroa does not discriminate), from adding a
bit from their other treated yards to insure they "break even"? After
all it is only a couple of hundred gallons in a thousand (fill in the
numbers depending on the ethical level). "The honey is the same purity
and I process it the same so the product is the same and no one is hurt.
And I do have to feed the kids."

There is no way to determine the yield from an organic yard unless you
have an inspector there through the whole process. Just think of the
variability in our own colonies and apiaries.

I have only described a well intentioned, normally honest but under
pressure beekeeper.

For the dishonest, Organic Honey is a goldmine.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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