Choosing the best honey is a good thing at all levels: it will be better in taste, more interesting from a nutritional point of view, and more respectful of bees and ecosystems.
If you plan to use honey for its health-benefits, it must be raw honey since pasteurizing it destroys the all of the benefits that are in it such as pollen, enzymes, propolis, vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants and aromatics. To discover raw honey near you, type “where to buy raw honey” into the search box of your preferred search engine.
Why is choosing honey so important?
Choosing the right honey is a decisive act for the planet: since the end of the 20th century, many beekeepers have reported an increase in mortality among bees. Studies to understand this phenomenon have been carried out recently and these mention various factors which could explain this situation. Pesticides based on neocotinoids are the first to be singled out, but scientists also mention the loss of floral diversity as well as the lack of genetic diversity in bees.
Besides these small foragers are essential for the proper functioning of the ecosystem: worldwide, 80% of plants and flowers are pollinated by bees. In here, 70% of plants depend on these insects. Suffice to say that we all have an interest in pampering the bees. You can check this website and find the best deal now. The finest quality raw honey comes perfect here. Thus, it will sometimes be impossible to harvest honey in certain seasons if the colony has not produced any surplus. It is also better for bee health than queens are artificially installed in the colony.
The Aspect of Morality
This high mortality in bees has repercussions on honey production. In France, for a few years now, French production of honey has been falling sharply. 2016 and 2017 were marked by particularly low honey production among beekeepers. By way of illustration, in 2016, France produced only 9,000 tonnes of honey, which represents a drop of 33.5% compared to production in 2014.
Despite this drop in production, the French continue to consume just as much honey. In 2013, 40,000 tonnes of honey delighted French households. In fact, more than 60% of the honey that we consume is imported. He comes from our neighbors in the European Union but also from Argentina or China. Importing honey over such long distances of course has a high carbon footprint in terms of transport, but above all, this imported honey is often of lower quality. Indeed, some studies have shown that Chinese honeys were not pure and were cut with sweet syrups.
- Certain methods of bee farming are more respectful of these insects than others. They are more favorable to their health and survival especially during winter and therefore better for the proper functioning of the ecosystem.
How to choose honey well?
Choose local honey
A first tip that you are already used to is to choose local honey. There are beehives all over French territory even on the roof of the Paris opera. So don’t panic if you live in the city, urban honey is just as excellent as honey produced in the countryside. Others would say that it is even better since bees foraging in town do not deal with pesticides which are generally used massively in conventional agriculture.
Conclusion
Although little supervised, the honey production meets more standards than production in certain large honey exporters such as China.
