BEE-L Archives

Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

BEE-L@COMMUNITY.LSOFT.COM

Options: Use Monospaced Font
Show Text Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
From:
allen dick <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 10 Dec 2003 16:50:12 -0700
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (72 lines)
> I could not find any reputable site that put sugar or any other
> allergies in the same category as nut or shellfish (or bee stings!),
> which can be serious...
> So to assume that feeding sugar syrup under the normal conditions that
> syrup is fed, and have some of the resulting "sugar syrup honey" make
> it into supers will lead to anaphylactic shock is a stretch...
> I found no correlation with anaphylactic shock and sugar.

Okay, that is an extreme case, and nobody has been arguing that sugar syrup
in honey is going to kill anyone (or not), although mention was made of
peanut allergy, since people have some vague awareness and can visualise it.
Somehow, lately, discussions seem to wind up at an extreme -- like
anaphylactic shock -- in only one or two posts, and the subtle actual point
raised is no longer considered.  I don't know why, but it disturbs me.
Let's try to look at shades of grey and see if we can find merit in
seemingly odd ideas.

The manifestation of a sensitivity is usually *not* nearly so extreme.  In
fact, although sensitivity *can* be life-threatening, the effects are more
often subtle and hard to pin down; moreso if the person is unable to
determine exactly what he or she is eating.   See
http://www.allergyadvisor.com/hidden.htm.

The point being raised is more a matter of quality of life, and of the right
to be able to make informed choices based on truth in advertising, than
survival.

For those who suffer from food and environmental sensitivities or is close
to someone who does, and that includes, I suspect, almost everyone, a visit
to http://www.allergyadvisor.com can prove fascinating.  I subscribed to
their free newsletters for quite a while and read them for entertainment.
Reading the newsletters is an eye-opener, and develops an appreciation for
the diverse responses that people may have to what most of us consider to be
benign substances.

I don't know that anyone is likely to die from accidentally eating minute
amounts of refined sugar.  In fact I very much doubt it.  The point is that
we are in a new millenium and the rules have changed.

We currently can find things in food that nobody ever thought we would, and
establishing significances we formerly rejected as speculative or 'fringe'.
Tomorrow, the sensitivity of that detection and corelation ability will
increase a thousandfold.   When the day comes that special and expensive
preparations are not necessary before doing a mass spec, and the lab can
just get a printout of everything in a sample while on coffee break, the
world will change.

I'm told that day is not in sight, but I you told me that I could have 256
megs of high quailty memory as a fob on my keychain, only a few years ago,
I'd have told you that you were dreaming in Technicolor.  Now I do.  Maybe
you do too.  Standards are tightening up everywhere, and there are surprises
around every corner.  Everything we thought we knew bears constant review in
light of startling new discoveries.

The point is that it is most invaluable for us to to examine in detail all
our practices and be aware of all possible criticisms.  A paradigm does not
shift overnight; we receive ample warning, but each time it happens, some
are left behind.

For a hobbyist, maybe finding out one morning that the world has changed may
not have a huge effect, but those who ship semi-loads of honey, and expect
it to pay the mortgage, had better keep a keen eye on the way the public is
thinking.  Today's wacky idea is tomorrow's law.

We are on the edge of a major shift. In fact it is already well underway.

http://www.honeybeeworld.com

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and  other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

ATOM RSS1 RSS2