What does “Organic” mean? I mean really, what does it mean? That you can charge an extra few bucks for “organic strawberries”? Or lettuce. That one kills me.  My guinea pig will eat “Organic lettuce” and I suppose the “other lettuce” is inorganic?  Well, she’ll eat that too.  To a guinea pig lettuce is lettuce. So what does organic mean?

Organic, by definition means  (1) : of, relating to, or derived from living organisms. (2) : relating to, yielding, dealing in, or involving the use of food produced with the use of feed or fertilizer of plant or animal origin without employment of chemically formulated fertilizers, growth stimulants, antibiotics, or pesticides. (Merriam-Webster)  Ok, so from that definition the snot in your sinus’ is totally organic, but if you buy lettuce with “miracle grow” sprinkled on it, its then non-organic. But you’ll still eat your salad with whatever lettuce you buy, just as your guinea pig will.  Does your lettuce taste any different? And how does all this relate to our honey bees?

According to some, “organic honey” is made by Bees that haven’t been treated by antibiotics, growth stimulants, (if Bees can have growth stimulants I don’t know) or anything at all.  I can see the use of “natural fertilizers” in crops, and I know that commercial farmers use pesticides to ward off nasty bugs that eat their lettuce, but for a Bee Farmer to have truly organic honey, they have to make sure that the 5 mile radius around their farms are free from pesticides, pollutants, and chemical residue.  A little crazy right? How do you train your Bees to stay away from the clover,  that they are naturally attracted to, because the clover farmer used Miracle Grow on their clover?   Well, you don’t.

Producing “organic honey” is no easy task, and quite honestly, after reading about the extensive testing by the USDA, and the stringent guidelines that Bee farmers have to follow, I understand the hike in the price. The honey that is labeled organic have to meet a set of standards and conditions during its production and then undergoes a certification process which tests sources of nectar, foraging area, bee management and extraction process.  But Bees are foragers and will go where they want, so is 100% organic honey even possible?  Probably not.  Does it taste any better to justify the higher price? I suppose only the true Honey Snob could answer that, and honestly, I like our local Bee-Keepers honey.  The boy friend received two jars from a bee-keeping co-worker that I’ve been using in my tea to try and get rid of this cold.  Taking a spoonful of co-workers honey tastes better than the honey I’ve got in my cabinet from the grocery store.  But then again, my neighbors strawberries, cucumbers, lettuce and corn also tastes better because of the lack of pesticides and fertilizer or is it because the produce is fresher?

A friend of mine once commented on how finicky her taste buds were because she could taste the preservatives in pickles.  I can taste the difference in teas, my son can taste the differences in sodas, and I believe that fresher produce does taste better than older produce. The taste in farm fresh eggs over commercial eggs is huge! Farm fresh eggs make fluffier omelets.

So I guess, we’re back to what does “Organic” really mean?  I think it means that every living being, that comes from another living being, is organic.  From the snot in your nose to the fresh sweet honey our honey bees make, its all organic.  Mass production of honey for sale obviously affects the taste, but in the end, its all organic.

Whats next? You’ll have to read nexts week blog to find out.. Bee Happy!!

Farming is defined as the growing of crops or keeping animals by people for food, and raw materials.  A Farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials.  A Bee Keeper is called an Apiarist.  An Apiarist keeps Bees in order to collect Honey and other products that the hives makes.  Therefore a Bee Keeper is a ….Farmer.

Who makes sure that the cows, the crops and yes, even the Bees are kept healthy?  Who treats the critters when they are sick? How do we even know if they are sick?  Behavior would tell us, the animals overall being.  Cows, horses, dogs and cats tell us that that are ill by way of body language or a decrease in the production of milk, or … honey.

My sister once told me that “Farmers are the stewards of the earth”.  It is the farmer’s job to ensure that the creatures we care for are healthy, happy and content.  So its really not that far of a stretch to say that if you have happy and healthy Bees, you will have a lot of honey and other bee products. But if your Bees are sick or unhappy, then they won’t produce as much honey.  So who do you call when your hives are sick? What do you do?

I received a phone call from a friend once, whose horse was colicking.  She asked if I had any Banamine.  Having a few horses of my own, I always kept an extra stash of the necessities.  I ran the extra Banamine over to her farm, saving her horse. Before the regulation of Bee Farming by the USDA, Bee farmers would do just that.  Call other Bee farmers for left over antibiotics, pick them up and give them to the Bees.  The Bees would get better, and start producing again.  Do you see the problem?  Mis-dosing your Bees, or worse yet, misdiagnosing the creatures you’re supposed to care for isn’t doing the Bees any good.  When the Farmer notices that something is wrong with their animals, they call the Veterinarian. YES!!! The veterinarian!  I’ll admit, I’m just as bad as most horse owners, if we can get away without the farm call, then yeah, we’ll treat our own horse.  My beloved Appaloosa had Lyme Disease so what did I do? I called my sister who gave me a huge bag of chicken antibiotics.  The drug is the same, the labeling and dosage is different. But then again, I’m not a farmer, I don’t have a responsibility to harvest food products.

Regulations overseeing the production of food products falls to the USDA.  They are responsible for checking in with farmers, inspecting livestock, farms for cleanliness, making sure that the animals are drug and antibiotic free.  These regulations are in place to protect the public against the ingestion of tainted dairy, beef and poultry.  As of January 1, 2017, the USDA deemed Bees as livestock, making the Bee farmers just as responsible for taking care of our little friends as the farmers are for taking care of the big critters.  Veterinarians are being taught how to care for Bees and their hives, to recognize different illnesses that can cause hive death.  The health and well being  of bees is up to the stewards of the earth.    So what happens when our Bees do get sick? How do we keep our bee products ‘organic’?  What does that even mean?  Keep reading and we’ll find out how to Bee Organic.