>I was in a meeting and I had a question about "Honey from Free Range Bees". This honey was sold in a Farmers' market and it was a big hit. Is there such thing? A google search indicated beekeepers are using the phrase. The phrase works well in the poultry business, and consumers have accepted it as a label suggesting healthier farm animals producing a healthier product. I'm wondering if it might evolve, or beekeepers begin to adopt the phrase as another way to portray an organic product, or to deceive the consumer in some manner. The idea that bees should be allowed to free range may have been around for nearly 200 years. There is a humorous proverb which suggests bees should be allowed to free range. It appeared in the American Farmer in 1831. "Keep plenty of cows and bees, as the surest way of having milk and honey. Confine your cows with a good fence but let your bees go at large. " -The American Farmer, 1831 Best Wishes, Joe Waggle Beekeeping Historian http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/HistoricalHoneybeeArticles/ *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm