The January 2019 issue of ABJ has a fascinating article by M.E.A. NcNeil titled "What's in the Honey Jar?" The article is about the Real Texas Honey initiative (realtexashoney.com) which involves certifying local honey-producing beekeepers as producing true, local honey. It's run by the Texas Beekeepers Association, with an USDA grant and in collaboration with local academic centers.

This made me think: perhaps I've missed it, but wouldn't it make sense to spread this idea nationwide? I'm struck by an analogy in the viticulture world. Italian and French wine makers have been competing for generations to produce the best wines. In the 60's and 70' Italian wines lost their market share - a lot of them were considered simple, peasant wines. You might recall the original Chianti bottles, which were wrapped in straw. Those were true "table" wines meant to be drank as soon as they were ready. Unfortunately, one doesn't make much money selling such pedestrian wine.

The answer was an establishment of an industry certification program called "Chiant DOCG" (https://italianwinecentral.com/denomination/chianti-docg/), which restricted who could sell wine with under a "Chianti" label and certified producers who agreed to follow the Chianti production standards. This was such a success that similar programs were later extended to other Italian wines. The end result was that Italian wines have reached millions of new consumers, who appreciate the consistency of flavor and who can trust that a bottle of Chianti hasn't been produced somewhere in China and shipped via Thailand to the US. You might be familiar with the latest Italian wine import which is spreading through the US like a storm and that's Prosecco, a sparkling white wine from the Veneto region (near Venice - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosecco). The same certification was then extended to olive oil production, after the scandals with "Italian" olive oil being really made in Spain or Greece and re-labeled.

The French wine-makers have recognized this very late and unfortunately they still haven't reached that consistency. I work for a French company and it's a topic of occasional internal disputes with my colleagues - I tend to shy away from French wines not because they are bad, but because they are inconsistent and the fragmentation of their producers and classification is simply overwhelming to an average consumer. When I buy a Chianti, or Barolo, or a Montelpuciano bottle, I know what to expect. With the French wines, it's still hit and miss (I'm talking about wines selling for less than $100; top of the line that's apparently a different story, but that's waaaay above my budget).

In the current US political climate, with a disfunctional executive & legislative branches, it seems that it will be years before reasonable new policies that protect food supply in the US will become codified. In the meantime, perhaps grass roots, industry driven standards can be proposed and adopted. Consumers are not stupid - they increasingly know that food price is correlated with quality and they have become more health conscious about what they put in their mouths. When I sell a 1lb jar of my honey in NYC for $15, it's hard for me to agree with the quote from Ron Phipps listed in the article: "There is no ceiling to quantities, no floor to prices, and no future for honest hard-working beekeepers." I know that he's talking about commercial production, not hobby/farmer market quantities, but still.

Is anyone aware of similar initiatives like the Real Texas Honey in other states? National level?

Przemek

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