Types of Honey

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Honey Granulation

USA Honey

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Did you know that your supermarket would be full of bare and empty shelves if it were not for the honey bee?

And I'm not talking about just the honey shelf or the fruits and vegetables either -- the dairy case and the meat counter would be just as sparse too! Why? Because most forage fed to cattle is pollinated by - guess who - the honey bee! Needless to say, without forage feed for animals, there wouldn't be all those meat and dairy products available in our stores.

In the US, our beekeeping industry relies upon pollination services as well as honey production in order to stay in business. Both of these activities are needed in order to ensure the availability of honey bees to do their essential work of pollination. When we import honey, it undermines the ability of our beekeeping industry to provide bees for pollination.

Please consider the following facts:

• China is the leading honey exporter in the world, followed closely by Argentina.
• The US imports approximately 100 million pounds of honey annually.
• From 1950 to 1995 the number of domestic bee hives in this country declined by over 50%.

It adds up to declining domestic production and greater dependency on foreign imports, a story we hear frequently these days. However, in the case of honey and the honey bee, when we import honey, we are jeopardizing everything else in the grocery store that depends on honey bee pollination.

Obviously, Chinese and Argentinean bee hives can not pollinate the other food items we depend on and enjoy in our grocery stores -- only domestic bee hives add to the wonderful abundance we enjoy in this country.

So, check the label and buy USA honey! Federal Law requires "Country of Origin" labeling if imported honey is packed or blended with domestic honey in the packing process. This way we can all continue to enjoy the abundant variety in our grocery stores!

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