Buying Organic Honey? Here's What You Should Know | Summary

​“Buying Organic Honey? Here’s What You Should Know.”
Elizabeth Grossman, Civil Eats
 
The dilemma presented in this article is a prime example of the challenges that make us ask, “what is ‘good enough’?” in food systems work. While increased farm acreage at first appears to be a good thing, we must ask questions like “what kind of acreage?” “where is this acreage?” and “at what cost?”
 
Domestic organic honey may soon become a thing of the past for the United States. As industrial farming expands and encroaches on remaining prairies and woodlands, pesticide and herbicide-free land that is safe for bees diminishes. Even in remote parts of North Dakota, the “last best place in the country to grow organic honey,” beekeepers see a direct (and adverse) relationship between increased farm acreage and pounds of honey produced per hive.