Bill Truesdell
I was in on the early setting of standards for organic
honey. I disagreed with the standards then (and they have
not changed much) and felt the real purpose had everything
to do with the movement and little to do with the actual
purity of honey. I also knew that those who labeled their
honey "organic" cheated since they had to treat for varroa
just like I did.
Reply:
I too have been in on the early setting of organic
standards or should I say the fighting over it. Too much is
politics and too little is actual beekeeping that fits the
needs of industry, especially on a world-wide scale.
My husband and I cannot accept the "Certified Standards" in
either Europe or the USA and have let appropriate officials
know in the USDA.
Working around it with advice from friends in Africa and
Europe we label our honey based upon our field management.
Very simply we say: Produced by Organic Methods without the
usage of chemicals, essential oils, drugs, FGMO, and acids.
Then to those we sell we give a notorized statement listing
what we do not use item by item, and also the fact that ALL
combs have been melted down and retooled with clean wax,and
that we are self-contained.Also we do not believe in
clipped queens due to AI.
Then to the pharmacies that have bought for zero tolerance
and passed samples thru the FDA for their testing, we also
tag each barrel of honey extracted by floral source, date,
and location.We also have allowed in the past, any sampling
desired by Pharmacutical purchasers, to see if we have been
contaminated in any way from outside sources that could
then be sued later on for contaminating us thru wrongful
application of treatment products.
Then all we do is stand ground. But we use small cell
foundation, 4.9mm top tolerance, and cull to approximate
10% maximum for drone comb, which actually ends up
producing more drones and giving us a longer breeding time!
Bill further writes:
You cannot police the problem if the end product is the
same.
Reply:
This is quite true indeed. Today's IPM substitution of soft
chemical usage,for across the board Organic beekeeping of
old is crazy, and an insult to those of us that work hard
to keep a clean product without the usage of all various
doping products that end up effecting the purity of the
honey, the pollen, propolis, and bees themselves.
Sincerely,
Dee A. Lusby
Commercial Beekeeper
http:groups.yahoo.com/group/organicbeekeepers
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