The problem with discussions such as this, where what is happening in 
one commodity market is transposed to beekeeping, is that beekeeping is 
just to far under the radar. We are a bit puffed up with our own 
importance.

To transpose the problems in the cattle industry to beekeeping is a 
stretch. The only comparison I see is the classic friction between 
producer and seller (packer/processor). Beyond that, the scale of the 
operations as well as the impact on the market are equivalent to an 
elephant and an ant. In a supermarket, how much shelf space is there for 
honey compared to meat in all its manifestations?

As I understand it, most of the push for tags was from the meat 
processors who wanted to get back the foreign (read Japan) market as 
well as Canadian imports. They used the government to push the tags and 
suppliers fought back. But it is hard to fight "mad cow".

I have talked about Maine beekeepers and our attempt to join with larger 
commodity interests. We were marginal compared to all of the others. (I 
was the rep because I wanted to be able to use their influence to do 
things we wanted.) We eventually gave up, mostly because I left the 
board of the MSBA. (One good thing about our name, Maine State 
Beekeepers Association, was it matched Maine Sheep Breeders Association. 
So the legislature occasionally listened when MSBA was mentioned, until 
they found out our "sheep" flew.)

Or look at the USDA organic standards for honey. Even mushroom standards 
have been set but honey is still languishing. Is honey actually less 
important than mushrooms?

We are in a closed group, and when you just talk to each other, you feel 
that you are in a larger community than you actually are. All your 
prejudices, for good and bad, are reinforced until you meet reality. It 
would be nice to actually be noticed but that is both a blessing and a 
curse.

If any problem come in the honey world, it will not be from government 
but from honey packers/processors (as it always does), and there, the 
packers have a larger problem because of imports, not exports as in the 
meat industry. They do not want to kill that goose. Hence, I doubt if 
there will be any concerted drive to tag honey.

We are just not that important. However, raise a big enough stink about 
it to be noticed and people will wonder why we do not want tags. Mad cow 
honey?

Bill Truesdell (Who has copyrighted the name "Mad Cow Honey" just in 
case it catches on. Great name for a woman's Rock group.)
Bath, Maine

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