About three victual experiences have bordered on orgasmic for me: The first was a locally sourced meal at the Milford Bistro in Prince Edward County, back when Karin and Michael ran it (they’ve since opened a bigger resto called Harvest, which I have yet to try, as it’s in Middle of Nowhere, Ontario); the second was the heady, silken intensity of SOMA’s olive oil dark chocolate truffle cone just as it reached room temperature.
The third was the gently floral, opalescent and absolute perfect sweetness of Volcano Island‘s organic white honey, a jar of which was recently given to me by an eco-minded friend who’d been in Hawaii. As their website says, this honey “floats off your tongue, leaving you to savor its subtle, yet rich, tropical essence … National Geographic Traveler magazine calls it ‘some of the best honey in the world.’” It comes from a single floral source, is certified organic, unheated and raw — and it’s nothing short of ambrosia.
You can read all about Volcano Island’s other sumptuous honeys and their labour-intensive collection and extraction process here.
Before I tried this, I actually wasn’t much of a honey fan. I’d grown up on that ultra-processed stuff that comes in a hive- or bear-shaped plastic tub, occasionally trying the harder varieties but getting frustrated when it wouldn’t disperse evenly on my Cheerios.
But there’s another reason why it’s important to stop and think before buying honey: Colony Collapse Disorder, which was in the news a lot last year when bees began disappearing at an alarming rate. It’s worrying not just because it translates into higher honey prices but because every third bite of food we eat depends on bee pollination.
Interestingly, as Treehugger pointed out a little while ago, despite the fact that record numbers of bees in North America and Europe were vanishing en masse, organic beekeepers reported no losses.
I asked my lovely assistant Eva to help me figure out what difference it makes when we buy raw and/or organic honey as opposed to regular honey, and she came back with tons of information. Here’s what she said:
- Raw honey is better in terms of health benefits, in maintaining the integrity of the honey, and in saving the energy that would be used in the pasteurization process.
“When honey is processed commercially, it is finely filtered and heated. Filtering removes most pollen particles and heat can change the color, taste and destroy vitamins. Additives have even been discovered in commercially processed honey.” Sources here and here.
“Raw unfiltered honey is unheated and unfiltered honey with zero additives containing the natural bee pollens, digestive enzymes, antioxidants, and energy providing elements health food researchers and raw food proponents have found beneficial to the human body.” Source here.
- Organic is better for our health, for the health of the bees, and for preserving pesticide-free plants for the bees to pollinate and live off of.
“Organic honey not only is safe to eat, but also helps keep our planet healthy. Organic beekeepers sustain the natural life cycle of bees by safeguarding their natural habitat, and nourishing them as nature intended. And because certifying a hive as organic is costly, they don’t exterminate the bees at the end of the season — a common practice in conventional beekeeping.” Source here.
- In choosing organic honey, you’re choosing not to contribute to a system that seems to be gradually destroying the earth’s bee population. Also, one of the theories about colony collapse has to do with the bees reacting negatively to GMO crops, particularly corn.
So in conclusion, she says: Raw organic honey is the most eco-friendly honey you can buy. And by supporting organic bee keepers, you’re helping to maintain a population of healthy bees, without which many crops would not be able to grow, because they wouldn’t get pollinated, and then we wouldn’t get food. We really need bees!
Thanks Eva!
Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, my mum was also kind enough to send me this medical article about the various uses of honey as an alternative topical treatment for wounds.
Either way, from now on, I’ll only be buying honey that’s both raw and organic.
I recently read on Celsias that another brand of Hawaiian Honey, also raw and organic, Royal Hawaiian Honey is carbon neutral, including shipping. Pretty cool. So if there is no one to bring you jars of it, you can always order it yourself, carbon-guilt-free
link to the article
Only one caveat I’m aware of on honey, and that’s regarding small babies- last I heard, you were NOT supposed to give babies in their first year any honey at all. It IS full of biologically active stuff; all kinds, including some bacteria, and before the baby’s “gut closes” some of it can move right into the bloodstream, potentially doing bad things.
Is there another link to the article your mum sent you? The one you provided leads to a password protected site…
No, thank you
I got to learn a ton about bees and honey, they’re really fascinating!
I’m glad to hear that the Hawaiians are having success with organic honey! I tried to go into organic beekeeping a year ago, and lost my hive. I haven’t permanently given up, but I have lost a little motivation since someone told me recently that bees aren’t native to North America. Beekeepers here face an array of pests for which there are no known effective organic treatments or preventions, so most beekeepers routinely and preemptively use chemicals. Hopefully Hawaii, as an island, can protect its bees from hive beetles, tracheal mites, varroa mites, and the many bee diseases that beekeepers fight here.
Enjoy your honey! It is very good for you, and can be substituted for sugar in most recipes as well. Since honey is sweeter than sugar, you divide the amount in half. You may also need to reduce any other liquids or increase other dry ingredients, and it is more delicate and prone to burning (mostly a concern with baked goods.)
Yikes, you’re mom’s article also talks about maggot therapy and leeches. Not quite as yummy as honey… EEK!
If people are so concerned for bees why eat honey at all?
Agave nectar all the way!
Anon,
The first time I tried the link to her Mom’s site, I got the sign-in. The second time I didn’t. Might be worth trying again.
Greenpa, isn’t it the first TWO years that honey is a no-no?… or maybe I just have super-cautious friends.
Vanessa, you must be able to find local honey, right? I bet your CSA folks would know where to find some, or who to ask. I started buying local honey a couple years ago at my farmer’s market, and the taste is amazing. But it also adds something to actually know the person who makes it.
Emily — Yes, I can indeed find local raw honey here. I got some this past summer at a farmer’s market. The only thing is, it was pretty hard, and nowhere NEAR as amazing as this Hawaiian honey was, so I never used it that much. But certainly, the carbon cost of shipping my favourite brand all the way from Hawaii is a little too much.
Anon — I never got a password protection thing on that site… maybe try it again, as Debbie says?
And Natalie — that’s really interesting (and sad, kinda!) about your lack of success with the organic beekeeping. If you ever find out a new system that works, please let me know!
Vanessa, great post! I love the added info that Eva and your mom bring! I’ve been feeling guilty that our organic free trade sugar is not local, but I bet we could find some local honey. I’ll be looking now! Thanks for the info.
Yay honey!
I go through local organic honey by the 32-oz jar, refilled from a five-gallon drum at the co-op
It’s not raw, but I’m ok with that. I can only get raw honey in tiny little jars, and it’s probably a greater environmental impact to make all those little jars than to just heat and filter the honey. (Or I could probably get it in greater quantities directly from the beekeepers, but then I’d have to drive out there.)
Aloha Vanessa,
Those of us at Volcano Island Honey Company are glad that you got turned on to our honey! I love your project. I did a project last year where I ate only Hawaii-island grown foods for 3 months. Read it here: http://www.hawaiiislandjournal.com/2006/1202a.html
I appreciate the personal, everyday approach to sustainability. We here at VIHC are always striving as a business to be more sustainable. Keep it up and come visit when you are in Hawaii, we will give you the grand bee tour.
Andrea
Business Manager at Volcano island Honey Co.
God, I learn so much here! It never donned on me that the honey you buy at the store isn’t organic – I just thought that organic was really the only way to do it. Why mess with honey? You just take it and put it in a jar right? I should have known though, practically everything in grocery stores in North America is processed, stripped of nutrients, and pumped full of fillers to within an inch of it’s life. Sad. This is one change I’m definately going to make. If for no other reason that I’m pissed that I was duped for so long.
I think this website is starting to have an effect on me. I’ve decided to cut down on my meat consumption. I’ve pretty much eliminated red meat (not because I don’t absolutely ADORE a good steak, but because of the expense to my health and pocket book). I am going to try and go vegetarian at least 2 days a week. It sounds easy for some people, but I am a girl who grew up literally eating red meat about 4-5 times a week, so this is pretty big.
I’ve discovered the joys of local, organic, raw honey since moving to England a year or so ago. Growing up on honey-bear honey, it wasn’t ever really a favorite of mine; now I love it. I think that the hardness or softness of “set” honey, as it’s called here, depends on the wax content in it. Not sure about that, though. My most recent jar of honey, bought at the only healthy/organic/wholefoods store in town, which supplies a lot of local goods (locally-milled flour!), came from about twenty minutes down the road and is meltingly soft, straight from the jar. Yum!
There’s an amusing, light-reading sort of book that I read a few months ago – “Sweetness and Light” – that is a good introduction to honeybees ‘n such: Amazon link.
Andrea — I’m TOTALLY taking you up on that offer… just as soon as I finish this challenge (somehow, even if I offset a flight to Hawaii, it just seems a bit much).
Blah — LOVE it! I’m so happy you’ve been inspired to dabble in vegetarianism. This site is all about finding the middle ground in the green movement and being realistic, so even flexitarianism (which I wrote a story about once) is great. You can actually get half-beef, half-soy burgers and meatballs now, too. I’ve tried them and they were REALLY good. You would not be able to tell that there’s any soy in there whatsoever. Chris & Tal make them, I think they’re at Whole Foods in most cities.
Julia — Thanks for the link. I’m really interested in reading more about bees and honey, so I can’t wait to check it out.
people kill bees after the season is finished?? I never knew this – how horrible!!
Here is Australia we have some beautiful organic honeys, especially from bush hives. It’s amazing how different the tastes can be according to teh different types of flowers. If you don’t like honey i suggest trying several different types of organic honey, from different areas until you find one you like (you will!). Organic honey is a lot better than sugar, even raw sugar, as the more people who buy oragnic honey, the more organic hives are set up and as vanessa points out, bees are so essential to most of our foods.