Perhaps the question should be 'is there any such thing as honey that is not produced by Free Range Bees?'.
 
Unfortunately, while good marketing for that particular seller, creates a false impression in the buyer's mind that there is honey that is not and may leave a less than savoury whole-industry impression. 
 
I've had some experience of that locally in recent months after a person with an anti-commercial agenda got an article published in the media that compared us to 'battery hen farmers' and took a crack at many aspects of beekeeping.  Non-beekeepers that I happened to be working with at the time took the article at face value, confessing that they considered backing out of working with me because I am a commercial beekeeper. Fortunately they had the sense to ask me first, and after I spent an hour dispelling the myths and misrepresentations in the article, they were happy to go on with the project (they were doing an educational display on honey bees). 
 
It is remarkable how little the general public actually know about bees, how they live, and how we work with them.  I think there is a responsibility on all beekeepers to take an educational role here and there, or at least to ensure that their public representations don't create false negative impressions of others.    I know that's pie in the sky, and every marketing man about is laughing their socks off at the very notion. 
 
Deanna Corbett
New Zealand

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