With organic products becoming increasingly more available, it is often hard to know what we should splurge on and buy organic and what is safe to not. In this blog post we will discuss the reasons to buy honey organic, as well as the reasons you may not want to.
What Is The Difference In Organic Honey And Honey Not Labeled Organic?
In order for honey to carry the organic label it has to be certified. To get honey certified organic, a beekeeper must make sure he is harvesting honey from hives that meet a certain standard. The biggest hurdle that beekeepers face in the United States to getting their honey certified organic is the location of their hives. Bee hives require very little land and it is not uncommon for a hobby beekeeper to have 20 hives in their back yard. Those bees, however, will forage for nectar sources in a 2-3 mile radius from their hives. Some say at times they might even travel up to 5 miles in search of a food source. While a beekeeper can control the chemicals used to treat pests in his hive and other health management tools, he has no control over where his bees forage for food.
Where Does Organic Honey Come From?
Because such a large amount of land around an apiary (a yard where bee hives are kept) would need to be certified as organic, most, if not all, of the US honey supply labeled organic comes from outside of the United States. Brazil is a large producer of organic honey sold in the United States. However, honey found in supermarkets or club stores with an organic label are often highly processed and lack most of the health benefits that raw unfiltered honey possesses.
What Is Raw Honey And What Are The Benefits Of Raw Honey?
Raw honey is honey that has not been pasteurized. Raw honey possesses many benefits. It is naturally antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and contains many nutrients, as well as antioxidants. Pasteurization is used to make honey more shelf stable, but the process requires heating the honey to a high degree which destroys the beneficial nutrients, enzymes, and qualities of the honey.
What Is Unfiltered Honey?
Honey naturally contains pollen, wax, propolis, and even parts of bees. To produce unfiltered honey, when honey is extracted it is poured through a mesh strainer to remove any large particles. This process does not remove everything from the honey though, especially small particles of pollen. This is why many people turn to local raw honey as a natural remedy for seasonal allergies. Local Raw honey is usually also unfiltered. Most honey found in supermarkets, however is highly filtered and has little to no health benefits.
Not All Honey Comes From Cultivated Crops.
Many types of honey come from nectar flows that are primarily from wild nectar sources. For example, in the southeastern United States, gallberry, palmetto, tallow, and tupelo are common types of honey to find. Gallberry and palmetto grow wild mostly in wooded areas and have a low chance of being sprayed with pesticides and herbicides. Tallow and tupelo are trees that would also be free from such contaminants. When bees forage they often forage on several nectar sources at once which means you will never find a honey purely from one nectar source. However, since gallberry, palmetto, tallow, and tupelo are major nectar flows, the honey collected during these flows will be a high percentage from these sources. This means that the pesticide and herbicide load found in these honey crops should be significantly lower than what might be found in a honey such as orange blossom or sunflower which would come primarily from cultivated crops that have a greater likelihood of being sprayed.
So Should You Buy Organic Honey From A Store Or Should You Look For A Local Honey That You Access Directly From A Beekeeper?
Local honey is almost always going to be a superior product to what you may find in the stores. Most small beekeepers take pride in producing a quality honey that is raw, unpasteurized, and produced local to your area. Imported honey has often been cut with sugar or cornsyrup. Buying directly from your local beekeeper allows you to become familiar with their beekeeping practices. Most local beekeepers are more than happy to answer your questions and share their interest in honeybees with you. By buying local you also get all the health benefits that come with consuming local raw honey. So when you purchase local honey you are benefiting your health, supporting local beekeepers, and helping to sustain local pollinators.
