Bill Truesdell wrote:

> My guess is that you could call it that now, no
> matter what you do to
> the bees since honey is natural.

Honey is natural : true (as far it is not sugar honey
at least). But for once, I'm afraid I have to disagree
- a little - with you. Natural does not mean organic.
"Whatever you do to bees" do not guaranty natural even
if honey still comes from nectar. Otherwise, one could
use the same statement for almost all crops. I guess a
carrot is always carrot, always naturally grown from
earth... and a salad as well. Except GMOs, one could
say his crop is "natural"...whatever the pratices one
use ? It may be legal right now, but it does not sound
honest.

> The problem is you can have as many definitions and
> rules as you wish,
> but it does not get around the problem that almost
> all honey will pass
> basic purity tests.

OK, an non organic can be (and should be, otherwise it
should not be sold) as safe as an organic product. But
two things :
1. safety standards (as all standards) are moving
limits, dependent on scientific knowledge, lobbying,
analytical capacity (detection limit), analysis costs,
monitoring parameters chosen... and so on. A "purity"
test is then a necessary relative minimum safety
standard... not a sufficient quality indicator. For
example, according to some studies in Danmark I
remember, sperm in organic products eaters was better
(in quantity and in quality) than in non organic (but
safe as well) products eaters. Sorry I do not remember
the exact reference and I do not have the time to
check it right now.
2. when I buy an organic product, I do not just buy an
a priori free chemical product (since no analysis were
performed to confirm this point), but I merely also
buy a certain philosophy of living, a way to
produce... in other terms I also want to influence the
kind of society I want to live in. The end product can
be the same, I do not care so much... as far as I am
convinced the organic one is less polluting.


> There are those in Maine who sell "Blueberry" honey.
> There is such a
> variety of color and taste that it is difficult to
> believe blueberry
> nectar varies so much from the same plant.

So true for so many honeys. The worse is only honesty
will preserve our long term market. If our labels are
lying, why should customers buy our honey at higher
prices instead of cheap imported honey ? Customers
trust (or confidence, what is the right word ?) is an
- almost - priceless graal, isn't it ?

> how can you police
> honey that is labeled, "natural", "organic",
> "pesticide free" or even "I
> use chemicals to kill bugs" when there is no
> difference between any of
> the honeys?

To many confusing concepts, IMHO. But in the same way,
it is another stong reason to ask for one "reasonable"
certification, widely advertised and explained to
customers, in order to rule the actual anarchic
situation : all constraints (almost anachievable
organic standards in most areas) or nothing (do what
you want and label it "natural local honey").


> I also knew
> that those who
> labeled their honey "organic" cheated since they had
> to treat for varroa
> just like I did.

... which let me think : a bit less of stringent rules
and a lot more of stringent controls would certainly
be better for the "organic label" credibility .

Hervé
Le Rucher d'Émélys
www.emelys.com
Laval, Quebec, Canada

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