Honey – divine nectar , edible bee love and sacred food

I fell in love with the taste of honey as a young girl, and especially loved creamed honey on toast – or comb honey eaten right off of the spoon. Chewing the beeswax for an hour longer was a bonus from this special treat. Taking a moment to savor the vision of golden syrup as it dripped from the hexagonal cells was another aspect of my wonderful memories of comb honey.

And…

I still go off of my “let’s eat carefully of this precious nectar diet” when there is a chance to eat biscuits dripping with golden nectar!

The wonderful & best-selling novel by Sue Monk Kidd, “The Secret Life of Bees” unfolds in a sentimental, honey-glazed land that vaguely resembles South Carolina in 1964. The movie is almost as good as the book – for describing the inner life of its complex characters…I cried all the way through!

There is a scene in the movie - “The Secret Life of Bees” - when Lily smashes several jars of honey in her anger at her lack of mother-love. This abundance of wasted honey really brings home how powerful that loss must have been - for her to destroy the life work of her beloved bees. (One worker bee actually makes

only 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime.)

But – that is not the point of this brief post…I merely wanted to remind my readers that honey is precious – so precious that it takes a honey bee (Apis mellifera) 154 trips, carrying tiny amounts of nectar from the flower to the hive, just to make one teaspoon of honey. The days of cooking with an entire cup of honey are long gone in my life…as a natural food devotee in the 1970’s I ate more than my share of this divine nectar. So I hope that we all begin to offer greater respect for the trials of the honey bee in these times of CCD – let’s eat honey wisely, offer our blessings to the bee, and begin to keep hives locally! That will develop better genetic strains of bee that may weather this time of collapse, which I believe mirrors the overall environmental stress of our current Planet -wide crisis.

Honey has been used as a medicine and a sacred food since before the ancient Egyptians began to keep hives.

So - hey - Let’s get back to a sense of the sacred with all  of our foods, and especially those  which are truly precious and rare, hard to get and  involve the sacrifices of our fellow species.

Blessed Bee.

Oh, oh, its gonna be a wild ride!

What is going on!???? I am probably the “average” person when it comes to understanding the economy…but, when does Wall Street get to be bailed out using MY money????

Upset – yes I am… some rich corporate guys make a big big mistake, and WE, the People have to pay for it? Not fair – I remember a Movie where Chevy Chase’s wife spends the entire family savings in a casino – Chevy tries to convince the owners to give back her money – “It was a mistake”…well, Vegas doesn’t give back lost wages and neither should the stock market be bailed out by the American Taxpayers…those fat guys were gambling, and they lost…

700Billion - that would buy a whole bunch of great houses for the folks who are out sitting on sidewalks after their foreclosures…

Do the math!!

Meanwhile, I feel we are on a roller coaster toward the great crash…I am planting my garden & buying cans of salmon with my savings – how about you?

SMALL FARMS ARE MORE PRODUCTIVE AND PROFITABLE

Let’s take another look at small farms. The localization of our food supply will offer many positive opportunities to our youth, to our sense of place & community, and also to the quality of health and well being we each take from our daily meals.

American agriculture is mired in a mind-set that relies on capital, chemistry and machines. Food production is dependent on oil, in the form of fertilizers and pesticides, in the distances produce travels from farm to plate and in the energy it takes to process it.

For decades, environmentalists and small farmers have claimed that this is several kinds of madness. But industrial agriculture has simply responded that if we’re feeding more people more cheaply using less land, how terrible can our food system be?

Now that argument no longer holds true. With the price of oil at more than $120 a barrel (up from less than $30 for most of the last 50 years), small and midsize nonpolluting farms, the ones growing the healthiest and best-tasting food, are gaining a competitive advantage. They aren’t as reliant on oil, because they use fewer large machines and less pesticide and fertilizer.

• A 1,000 acre U.S. corporate farm growing genetically engineered crops nets an average of $39 an acre.
• In contrast, a four-acre family farm nets, on average, $1,400 per acre.
• Small organic farms are proving to be even more profitable. With oil prices on the rise, growing food without petroleum-based pesticides/fertilizers, and delivering that food to local markets will quickly prove to be the most affordable food available.

I love eating the fresh greens that come in my weekly CSA basket, everything was just picked, and is organic and as fresh as possible. Why not look online for your local Farmer’s Market or CSA ( Community Supported Agriculture) and start getting the best food for your family and for your money right now!

Source: Solving the Food, Health, & Energy Crisis: Local & Organic Production on Smaller Farms

* Change We Can Stomach
By DAN BARBER
The New York Times, May 11, 2008
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_12216.cfm

Local Food Rant

Eating avos in winter? Lettuce in the heat of summer? Here’s the hard truth! We have gotten so off track on local food in just the last 30 years we don’t even realize what that means to our footprint.

~ I love world market foods, give me a Thai Green curry any day… But, let’s take a look at this addiction to variety, to exotic tastes…

In my childhood, (1960’s) hardly one had ever eaten an avocado or artichoke in the Midwest, and international food was a dream that was only real when you ate pizza (either in a restaurant on special occasions - or from a box mix)

This boredom was also unrelieved by hot new restaurants. Mostly people ate at home, in fact - they hardly ever ate out, except for church socials or community potlucks…this all a world from the past, from our rural heritage, and certainly a world that did not know what they missed…

Fast forward to today - where Trader Joe’s brings us Israeli cheese, Italian olive oil, and such things are very available in any corner market in the USA. We have gotten everyday habits that are going to be hard to break. Do we have to break the imported food habit? Is the 1500 mile salad, the supermarket dinner sustainable? To complicate things - we have gotten used to spending only 11% of our income on food, unlike most of the world - and getting the huge choices, big super sizes of everything as well!!

Yikes - time to reassess. Can we find happiness chewing on locally grown potatoes, broccoli in season, waiting for the peaches to come ripe? This is what local food means - grown nearby and in season. Your CSA shows the way - they give you a basket of whatever is ripe and ready to harvest in the garden. Try the Farmers Market for a great selection of timely foods, picked recently and by people you get to talk to while you handle their life’s work! Either is a simple and fun way to begin eating local.

Even more directly connected is your own garden, imagine how much more local can you get – than a 20 foot away dinner rather than a 1500 mile dinner! Check out your own slow food connection as you eat tomatoes that you grew – right off the plant, now that is a 1” dinner….the most local of all…now if only I didn’t need my hands at all – how much closer can I get? Mmmmm, a no-hands lunch! Ok, I am over the top – but you get the point… if I eat that tomato, ripe from the sun , my mouth filled with its just picked sweetness, I have just lowered my carbon footprint by a a factor of a thousand. Yay team! Let’s eat the imports, with grace and appreciation for their amazing availability, occasionally – as befits such luxury.  Here’s to your health…please pass the spinach!

Check out this site for a localization conversation-locallectual

Also the movie - The Real Dirt on Farmer John!

 

The Amazing & Vanishing Honeybee

Why do we sing their life song now? The ancients worshiped the bee, sang songs to them, made beautiful and complex gold jewelery in their image. Who are we to allow them to disappear without making songs to their magnificence?

Yes, friends - as many have now pointed out - not only honey lovers - but almond lovers, cheese lovers - your foods are at stake here, in fact - perhaps your own very life is too! The bees brings us agriculture as we know it. They also may bee a significator of the collapse of our ecosystem in these times - an early victim of the complex immune destroying lifestyle we have come to accept and yet (almost) be oblivious of.

What can we do to save the bees?

And why do we care? Just a few facts-

*Honeybees are the only insects that produce food for humans. What a gift! What have we done for them?

*Just a single hive contains approximately 40-45,000 bees! They live as if they are cells of one organism, very socially sophisticated…we humans could learn something from their high degree of cooperation, sharing and dancing communications!

*During honey production periods, a bee’s life span is about 6 weeks. In the winter, they live longer because they don’t get worn out by flying.

*Honeybees visit about 2 million flowers to make one pound of honey. They also bring in their weight in pollen if they find it!

*A bee travels an average of 1600 round trips in order to produce one ounce of honey; up to 6 miles per trip. To produce 2 pounds of honey, bees travel a distance equal to 4 times around the earth. Next time you wrap that spoonful of golden honey around to save everry drop, be reminded of how much loving work and air time created that honey!

*Bees fly an average of 13-15 mph. Maybe we can learn from them how to move at a rate of speed that brings rewards and health.

*Bees from the same hive visit about 225,000 flowers per day. One single bee usually visits between 50-1000 flowers a day, but can visit up to several thousand.

*Queens will lay almost 2000 eggs a day at a rate of 5 or 6 a minute. Between 175,000-200,000 eggs are laid per year.

*About 8 pounds of honey is eaten by bees to produce 1 pound of beeswax.

Beegin to keep a hive of bees. For one thing, it will slow you down to bee in their presence. They hum a mysterious and ancient song, and draw you into watching their daily activities at the hive entrance. Their flight arrivals and departures are way more interesting than anything at the airport! Besides, you may bee helping to save these precious and social creatures. My hives are deep in the rural mountains of Mendocino County. As far as I know, there is no commercial agricultural spraying done anywhere nearby ( They fly up to 5 miles to find nectar) and no weird cell phone towers, or other concentrated electromagnetic pollution to cause their immediate distress. I am hoping that a colony collapse and mite-resistant strain of bees can develop in our area. Check out your local beekeeping group!! I started one as it appeared that we needed to get together. Turns out that almost 40 people in our sparsely populated area keep bees or want to have bees!

There have been a few good movies lately - coming around to educate us and interest us in bees…including the newest - The Vanishing Bees. See a fabulous trailer at their website - http://www.vanishingbees.com/

You can even play games about bees… learn about how to keep bees, or enjoy using local honey in special ways. Bee kind to our pollinators, they are our benefactors in so many ways.

World Fair Trade Day – May 10, 2008

What is World Fair Trade Day? On May 10th, people in 70 countries worldwide will hold events to mark World Fair Trade Day in order to highlight the importance and benefits of Fair Trade. Fair Trade guarantees a fair price and safe working conditions for producers and also supports sustainable practices that minimize our environmental footprint. Fair Trade enthusiasts worldwide will host Fair Trade food tastings, house parties, speakers, festivals, concerts, and fashion shows. Many communities are celebrating World Fair Trade Day over a period of two weeks, from May 3-18th, . read more at the World Of Good website!

Water footprint - forget carbon, we are in dire need of understanding this one!

Every item we consume or use has a

Water footprint

Because our modern urban lives are the result of a century of infrastructure - bringing us our electricity and heat with a touch of a switch, water on tap for the taking, we have lost touch with the actual footprint of our resource use. Conservation is a great concept - but what is the quantification of every move we make, every change we take? How can we make ethical choices in this regard? Turns out there are some siimple rules - always recycle is one of them!

The hidden water consumption in our daily commodities far outweighs the water we actually take from the tap.

People use lots of water for drinking, cooking and washing, but even more for producing things such as food, paper, cotton clothes, etc. The water footprint of an individual, business or nation is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual, business or nation.

The water footprint of a nation shows the total volume of water that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the inhabitants of the nation. Since not all goods consumed in one particular country are produced in that country, the water footprint consists of two parts: use of domestic water resources and use of water outside the borders of the country. The water footprint includes both the water withdrawn from surface and groundwater and the use of soil water (in agricultural production).

Some facts and figures

• The production of one kilogram of beef requires 16 thousand litres of water.
• To produce one cup of coffee we need 140 litres of water.
• The water footprint of China is about 700 cubic meter per year per capita. Only about 7% of the Chinese water footprint falls outside China.
• Japan with a footprint of 1150 cubic meter per year per capita, has about 65% of its total water footprint outside the borders of the country.
• The USA water footprint is 2500 cubic meter per year per capita

Forget carbon: you should be checking your water footprint
By Amol Rajan
Monday, 21 April 2008

Ethical shopping just got harder - but the latest attempt to help
conscientious consumers calculate their impact on the environment
could do more to preserve scarce resources than all its predecessors.

The concept of water footprints - or “virtual water” - will tell
consumers the amount of precious H2O that has been used in the
manufacture of products they buy. As with carbon footprints, a
“virtual water” figure will indicate the extent to which a particular
product has cost the earth. And, as with carbon footprints, the
message is clear: less is better.

A new website run by the University of Twente in the Netherlands,
waterfootprint.org, gives ethically minded consumers a chance to work
out the hidden implications of their shopping habits. Common
including groceries, clothes, stationery and electrical
goods are evaluated according to a water footprint calculator. In
each case, the water footprint covers both the manufacture and
transport of the goods.

The results are striking. An apple weighing 100g has a water
footprint of 70 litres, while a 125ml cup of coffee has a water
footprint twice that size, 140 litres. But the water used in
producing wheat or meat is much greater. A single kilogram of barley
has a water footprint of 1,300 litres, while the industrial
production of a kilogram of beef amasses a water footprint of 15,500
litres.

Poultry, meanwhile, has a smaller water footprint than red meat:
producing a kilogram of chicken meat leaves a comparably much smaller
water footprint of 3,900 litres.

Academics behind the “virtual water” calculations have also created a
worldwide league table for the water footprint of different
countries. The US is the biggest offender, with a water footprint of
close to 2,500 cubic metres per year per capita, while Italy is a
close second. Britain’s water footprint is relatively modest at 1,245
cubic metres per year per capita.

The calculations are fiendishly complicated. But if they prove
popular, calculations of water footprints could do much more to help
minimise the environmental impact of consumption than other, similar
schemes.

Over the past year in particular, controversy has surrounded the idea
of “food miles”, as mounting evidence throws doubt on the idea that
locally produced food is better for the environment. Research
suggests that many products freighted in from halfway across the
globe can leave smaller carbon footprints than carbon intensive
production methods closer to home.

Yet for consumers keen to minimise their water wastage, there remains
a single, simple mantra to live by: always recycle.

A cotton shirt, for example, has a water footprint of 2,700 litres,
tallying up the water evaporated in irrigating and growing the
cotton, as well as the water needed to wash away fertilisers.
Recycling such products, and thereby minimising fresh production,
could make the earth’s water resources go much, much further.

“Our research shows that most people aren’t aware of how much water
they use,” a spokesperson from the Consumer Council for Water said
yesterday.

Though it covers more than two-thirds of the earth’s surface, water
has never been more precious. An influential UN report published in
2003 predicted severe water shortages would affect 4 billion people
by 2050, adding that 40 per cent of the world’s population did not
have access to adequate sanitation facilities.

Counting the cost

*Slice of white bread: 40 litres

*Burger: 2,400 litres

*Kilogram of cheddar: 5,000 litres

*Cotton shirt: 2,700 litres

*Pint of beer: 160 litres

*125ml glass of wine: 120 litres

*Pint of milk: 1,760 litres

–

NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C., section 107, some
material is provided without permission from the copyright owner,
only for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research
under the “fair use” provisions of federal copyright laws. These
materials may not be distributed further, except for “fair use,”
without permission of the copyright owner. For more information go
to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml

~~
(PS- I borrowed much of this article from the independant and the water footprint website - I feel that this information is so important that we should all pass it on! - annieb)

NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C., section 107, some
material is provided without permission from the copyright owner,
only for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research
under the “fair use” provisions of federal copyright laws. These
materials may not be distributed further, except for “fair use,”
without permission of the copyright owner. For more information go
to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml

How do I know it’s Fair Trade?

How do I know it’s Fair Trade?

(Editor’s Note: This fabulous and succinct article can be found at Make Trade Fair website. The need for Fair Trade is only exceeded by the further need for localized production in every sector- that would offer us food & goods with a small carbon footprint since they are produced in the same area as they are used. - AnnieB)
Most Fair Trade products bear a Fairtrade Mark on the packaging. In different countries look out for the different names, Transfair , Max Havelaar or FairTrade Foundation . You can find out which is applicable in your country on the Fair Trade Labelling Organisation (FLO) website www.fairtrade.net
The Fairtrade Mark is the only independent guarantee to consumers that farmers in developing countries get a fair deal for their products. The FLO system currently covers mainly commodity food products: coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, honey, bananas, sugar, orange juice, mangoes and also where any of these products are the key ingredient in another product, for example snack bars. FLO is working hard to expand the types of products which are eligible for inclusion in the FLO system , for example footballs have recently been introduced as the first non-food product.

If a product is making a Fair Trade claim but it doesn’t carry a Fairtrade Mark you can be sure their claim is genuine if they belong to the International Federation of Alternative Trade (IFAT), whose members have a mission to tackling poverty through trade. You can check members of IFAT on their website www.ifat.org.
Many major retailers include Fair Trade products in the range of goods they offer the consumer. There are also over 2,500 World Shops selling Fair Trade goods as part of their mission to overcome poverty through trade. World shops operate in over 12 different countries and rely on over 100,000 volunteers. For more details about World Shops you can check on www.worldshops.org.

FAIR TRADE IS HERE FOR TEXTILES

Fair Trade is coming to the garment industry. There have been a number of successful years now of Fair Trade penetrating the Natural Food industry with passionate and deeply committed producers and retailers - of coffee and chocolate especially. In garments and textiles, Europe is leading the way, with many hemp lines made in Romania, and Organic Cotton from India being made under Fair Trade principles and by certified manufacturers under several programs. The US is behind, but catching up. Recently I attended the Eco-Fashion Show in Las Vegas. The numbers were small but committed, with many suppliers calling their products “Fairly Traded” as they had personally adhered to Fair Trade Principles but were not actually certified. It is time we operated on trust and commitment in these areas. As we transition into Green textiles, things will become easier to access, suppliers will make plans to certify, and the whole chain will slowly link us to Eco-logic.

Here are the principles if you want to apply them to your own supply chain. I suggest that it is the wave of the future, nothing less will do.

 The Fair Trade Federation

The Fair Trade Federation (FTF) is an association of businesses and organizations who are fully committed to fair trade. FTF strengthens the capacity of its members, encourages the exchange of best practices, and raises awareness about the importance of choosing fairly traded products and supporting businesses committed to fair trade principles.

 

FTF Principles and Practices

FTF members are committed to the following principles and practices in their trading relationships:

FAIR WAGES

Producers are paid fairly for their products, which means that workers are paid at least that country’s minimum wage. Since the minimum wage is often not enough for basic survival, whenever feasible, workers are paid a living wage, which enables them to cover basic needs, including food, shelter, education and health care for their families. Paying fair wages does not necessarily mean that products cost the consumer more. Since Fair Trade Organizations bypass exploitative middlemen and work directly with producers, they are able to cut costs and return a greater percentage of the retail price to the producers.

<>COOPERATIVE WORKPLACES

Cooperatives and producer associations provide a healthy alternative to large-scale manufacturing and sweatshops conditions, where unprotected workers earn below minimum wage and most of the profits flow to foreign investors and local elites who have little interest in ensuring the long term health of the communities in which they work. Fair Trade Organizations work primarily with small businesses, worker owned and democratically run cooperatives and associations which bring significant benefits to workers and their communities. By banding together, workers are able to access credit, reduce raw material costs and establish higher and more just prices for their products. Workers earn a greater return on their labor, and profits are distributed more equitably and often reinvested in community projects such as health clinics, child care, education and literacy training. Workers learn important leadership and organizing skills, enabling self-reliant grassroots-driven development. Safe and healthy working conditions are maintained and producers gain greater control and decision making power over the use of their local resources.

CONSUMER EDUCATION

Fair Trade Organizations educate consumers about the importance of purchasing fairly traded products which support living wages and healthy working conditions. By defining fair trade and conducting business in a manner that respects workers’ rights and the environment, the fair trade movement strives to educate consumers about the often hidden human costs of their “bargains.” By providing information about producers’ history, culture and living conditions, Fair Trade Organizations enhance cross-cultural understanding and respect between consumers and communities in the developing world. They also educate consumers and policy makers about inequities in the global trading system.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Fair Trade Organizations encourage producers to engage in environmentally friendly practices which manage and use local resources sustainably. Many FTF members work directly with producers in regions of high biodiversity to develop products based on sustainable use of their natural resources, giving communities an incentive to preserve their natural environments for future generations.

FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Small-scale farmers and artisans in the developing world lack access to affordable financing, impeding their profitability. FTF members that buy products directly from producers often provide financial assistance either through direct loans, prepayment or by linking producers with sources of financing. Unlike many commercial importers who often wait 60-90 days before paying producers, Many FTOs ensure prepayment so that producers have sufficient funds to cover raw materials and basic needs during production time. They also often provide other critical technical assistance and support such as market information, product feedback and training in financial management. Unlike commercial importers, FTOs establish long term relationships with their producers and help them adapt production for changing trends.

RESPECT FOR CULTURAL IDENTITY

Fair Trade Organizations encourage the production and development of products based on producers’ cultural traditions adapted for Western markets. They seek to promote producers’ artistic talents in a way that preserves cultural identity.

PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY

FTF members’ finances, management policies, and business practices are open to the public and monitoring by the Fair Trade Federation.

<>To Access FTF go to http://www.fairtradefederation.org/

The Spirit Connection of Commerce…

Personal identity is connected to our clothing and purchase decisions. This began in the USA in the 1950’s, but has been growing steadily until today – with Branding as almost a household word, and the look of a cell phone being considered equally with performance. We are in an age of visual desires. How can we shift this need for identity onto authentic products – practical things with durability, that are build in a “Fair Trade” model? Things that reduce our overall consumption of things – giving true satisfaction in use and over time?
Customers are asking their purchases to connect them to their world, and their perceived image.

We are currently living almost unconsciously in a consumer culture – yet, we are unhappy and asking for something else. This is cross cultural; the world wide system decisions that are required for our positive future are huge in nature – sweeping change is what we require.

The chaos of our times is slowly merging into a new focus on what is authentic, what is real, what will take us – not back in time to a simpler era – but forward into a vision of simplicity of action and purpose, identity based on clear purpose, balance, harmony with nature, with other peoples, with the Planet. This resonates deep within, in a spiritual place that we all hold dear, yet never discuss in our business dealings. The spirit connection of commerce is arriving even as we make carbon trading travel plans, buy a Prius, a hemp bag, an organic cotton shirt, a locally made pottery jug.

The new successful business model is being driven by this need for authenticity – for an underlying yet real with place and things. The Spirit Connection of Commerce is undeniable. Join in or be lost in the shuffle as we go forward into the new world, a world of choice between what feels good inside and what satisfies only a momentary desire.…be on the wave!

-Anne Waters Weller