How organic honey is produced?

moneyistooshorttomention

I have met someone who grows food organically and keeps bees for honey production.

The thing is though that they feed their bees sugar water in the winter.

I thought organic honey production meant bees are left with sufficient of their own "products" to feed themselves for the winter and not getting things done the "modern way" (ie of feeding them sugar).

After all, we've only had sugar available in this country anyway for the last few hundred years, so bees must have "used their own supplies" prior to that and hence I think this must be the "proper way" to go about things and organic honey production be done in that way accordingly.

Any beekeepers here who know how organic honey production is done in this country and whether beekeepers are entitled to call honey "organic" if the bees have been fed sugar water?

wellused

There was a very good programme on the other week about bee keeping and one ethical bee keeper said that they only took honey from the hive when there was a glut, most of the other normal bee keepers seemed to have more honey than they knew what to do with.

Mojisola

https://www.soilassociation.org/frequentlyaskedquestions/yourquestion/articleid/2408/is-there-such-a-thing-as-organic-honey
However, these rules effectively mean that UK producers can not produce organic honey.

Mojisola

Defra does have standards for organic honey but see page 53 -
5.1 At the end of the production season hives must be left with reserves of honey and pollen sufficiently abundant to survive the winter.
5.2. The artificial feeding of colonies is authorised where the survival of the hives is endangered due to extreme climatic conditions. Artificial feeding shall be made with organic honey, preferably from the same organic production unit.
http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/growing/organic/standards/pdf/compendium.pdf

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Speaking to the local bee keepers that were at the royal welsh spring show last week, a lot of bee keeps had a bad year last year, with the weather being soooo wet, one keeper lost over 15 hives...are they using organic sugar to just give them a little boast, rather than lose the whole hive??

moneyistooshorttomention

I can certainly understand the point Mojisola is making, ie that in an overcrowded little island like Britain, its not possible to vouch for what neighbouring land has happening to it. That thought had certainly crossed my mind and, short of buying honey only from places like Dartmoor and the like, its difficult to have any control over that. Even with honey from places like that there is the "There's always 'someone' factor:mad::(".

It is only possible to control factors that are most immediate, eg what the bees are actually fed in the winter.

Difficult in the 21st century to get "normal perfect" standard in this respect, but am trying to get as near to as possible...:cool:

I am guessing that I might have to stick to foreign honey from less-populated countries perhaps? though, even there, the "Always Someone" factor cant be 100% prevented...

Mojisola

It's difficult weighing up what's best - food miles v organic.

The natural beekeepers think that part of the problem with hive health is caused by the bees being fed on plain sugar during the winter - in nature, they would use their own stocks which contain more than just sugar but then the production from each hive would be much lower.

iammumtoone

As I understand it, it is impossible to produce organic honey in this country as nowhere is far enough away from any possible pollution.

moneyistooshorttomention

Mojisola wrote: »

It's difficult weighing up what's best - food miles v organic.

The natural beekeepers think that part of the problem with hive health is caused by the bees being fed on plain sugar during the winter - in nature, they would use their own stocks which contain more than just sugar but then the production from each hive would be much lower.

I would tend to agree with the natural beekeepers, if sugar is unhealthy and honey is healthy, then it seems only logical the bees will be healthiest fed on the healthy option. I can understand why "conventional" beekeepers would have got greedy and be feeding bees sugar water, but I still want "proper honey" and I imagine a lot of other people do too. I'm currently in a position where I have started growing a lot of my own organic food and am becoming very conscious of just how many Antisocial Others (ie Chemical Jane or Johns) might be nearby and possibly having an effect on my own "Perfectly Done Little Plot".

There is the "food miles" point and I am very conscious of this, but feel that I am a lot more conscious of whats what in a variety of other respects and don't wish to Do Harm, so a few food miles compared to what many other people do against the Do No Harm front ethos probably more than balances out.

Mind you, if I can get normal standard honey with few food miles = even better.