Mead Lovers Digest #1548

eZine lover (@eZine)

Published in 

Mead Lovers Digest

 · 6 months ago

Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1548, 15 October 2011 
From: mead-request@talisman.com 

 
Mead Lover's Digest #1548                                  15 October 2011 

                      Mead Discussion Forum 

Contents: 
  organic and the FDA, another oxymoron (Michael McClatchey) 
  Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1547, 10 October 2011 ("The Bannisters") 
  organic honey? ("Ed Vendely") 

NOTE: Digest appears whenever there is enough material to send one. 
Send ONLY articles for the digest to mead@talisman.com. 
Use mead-request@talisman.com for [un]subscribe and admin requests. 
Digest archives and FAQ are available at www.talisman.com/mead#Archives 
A searchable archive is at http://www.gotmead.com/mldarchives.html 
Digest Janitor: Dick Dunn 
---------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Subject: organic and the FDA, another oxymoron 
From: Michael McClatchey <mmmcclatchey@gmail.com> 
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2011 09:38:24 -0400 

IMHO, just because something has an FDA-approved label saying it's organic 
doesn't tell me anything. They've allowed so many exceptions that their use 
of the word has become meaningless. "Walmart organic", it's known in the 
trade, although no one will say that in their marketing literature. 

------------------------------ 

Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1547, 10 October 2011 
From: "The Bannisters" <bannister5@shaw.ca> 
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2011 13:51:15 -0700 

Re:...well, the whole honey thing 

Here's a site you all might be interested in: 
http://www.truesourcehoney.com/ 
This is the future of honey for us apiarists, so as consumers you may  
want to be aware of what it means. I suspect there will be more of these  
programs put in place around the globe very soon. 
As for organic, ART & Dick covered some excellent ground. There will  
always be someone willing to lie and cheat about their product; that  
doesn't automatically mean everyone will. Yes, anyone used to be able to  
call themselves organic and there was no way to prove it but that is  
changing rapidly. The restrictions in place for organic certification  
now are hard to meet but worthwhile. In 2009, we had a big change to our  
Standards that forced many of the cheats out. Food using the Canada  
Organic label or being sold to other provinces/internationally must meet  
far more stringent requirements than ever before, and I doubt it will  
get any easier. Buffer zones and soil and water tests are just part of  
what it takes to go organic but really, why would you want to go any  
other way? 

Cheers, 
A. Bannister 

------------------------------ 

Subject: organic honey? 
From: "Ed Vendely" <Ed@sweetbettybees.com> 
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:06:18 -0400 

Continuing the conversation about organic honey, it would be next to  
impossible to attain USDA Organic certification for honey in the USA  
unless located out in western states where there may be enough  
individually controlled acreage that would be needed for controlled bee  
forage without pesticide/herbicide treatments, etc. However, it is  
allowable to use the term "Organic" on labeling for producers selling  
under $5,000.00 per year and assuming they follow the basic organic  
practices and guidelines under USDA regs.  Most Certified Organic honey  
available for sale in the US comes from outside the USA , like  
Australia/New Zealand, etc. I agree that "buyers beware" of anyone using  
the term "organic" and just be sure to do diligence on their practices. 

An excellent alternative to USDA organic certification is offered by  
another organization, Certified Naturally Grown (CNG). They have fairly  
strict guidelines laid out and require fellow beekeepers police each  
other through yearly inspections by two other CNG beekeepers. More info  
on this certification program and listings in your area of CNG approved  
apiaries can be found on the website http://www.naturallygrown.org/ .  
This program follows organic practices but with real world practical  
situations taken into account. There are not many CNG listings for good  
reason. It's not easy to manage bees successfully under these strict  
guidelines. 

Ed Vendely 
www.SweetBettyBees.com 

------------------------------ 

End of Mead Lover's Digest #1548 
*******************************