Concerns about bee pollen

[sunshinerose]

Oh… I hate to be the one to start this topic, being such a bee product fan, but—I kept bees for a few years, and in my research I discovered some information that didn’t sit so well with the caring part of myself.

Bees collect pollen in sacs that are attached to their legs. To harvest the pollen, beekeepers use a thick “comb” in the bottom of the hive, in the slit the bees use as a entrance/exit. The bees then have to drag themselves across the “comb” to enter or exit the hive. The bristles catch and often tear off their limbs and other parts, and, consequently, pull most of the pollen they’ve collected off their legs in the process. The beekeepers then collect the pollen and and get rid of most of the “debris” (aka. bee body parts).

Pollen is like bee bread (any of you who have tasted it can testify!)—they need it to survive as a healthy colony. Taking the pollen from them (in the usual way) makes them have to forage more often, which is wearing on their bodies and health. Here’s a quote from Wikipedia about bees:

“As a rule of thumb the foraging area around a beehive extends for two miles (3 km), although bees have been observed foraging twice and three times this distance from the hive. Foraging at extreme distances wears out the wings of individual bees, reduces the life expectancy of foraging bees and therefore the efficiency of the colony.”

Royal jelly is also harvested at the expense of the health of the colony, although I haven’t done enough research to give the specific facts. Basically, commercial, industrial beekeeping and pollen/royal jelly-harvesting practices are cruel on the small scale and dangerous on a large scale. They’re degrading the health and balance of honey bees and should not be supported.

Bees are so important to the health and survival of our natural world… It’s in our best interest to keep them healthy. Please help this situation by not buying bee pollen (or royal jelly) and educating those around you to do likewise! Thanks…

[Tetris15]

Thank you for posting this. I'm glad I now know. What about the honey itself though?

[GlimR]

Very interesting first post.

Somtimes all this info makes a person not know which way to go or what the heck to eat, including water. Not to say that information shouldn't be shared or isn't important......striking a balance between personal integrity, global survival and surviving in the world in a realistic way has to fit in here somewhere.

[sunshinerose]

Bees create a back stock of honey, so typically a separate box is put on top of the one the "brood" (baby bees and larvae) are in-- that box has an entrance that's too small for the queen to get through, so she can't lay eggs in it. They take the honey box off when it's full and replace it with an empty one, then spin the honey off the comb. The majority of the bees energy goes into making the wax, so this is the least invasive way to get the honey. Some beekeepers still crush the comb to get the honey out, which means a lot more work and energy for the bees to reconstruct it before filling it with honey.

Know your sources... (better yet, know who keeps the bees)-- most keepers who harvest honey (and even some who don't) have to supplement their bees food supply in the winter, leaving sugar water just outside the door, so they can survive without their backstock of honey. Some keepers (most industrial & commercial keepers) keep sugar water supplements available all the time, so the bees make more "honey", which is then, in large, honey-flavored dehydrated sugar syrup. Oy.

Companies that are conscious enough to be keeping their honey raw are probably also conscious enough to practice more sane honey production methods.

Yeah, it's a lot of info, but instead of getting discouraged, it makes me feel more empowered to make earth-loving decisions... and to know and grow as much of my food as possible. It's really important, if we want to live in right relation with our food, soil, air, water... (if you want to eat, drink or breath). Definitely most important though, to love & be grateful for what we DO get to eat, drink & breath, regardless of its source. :)

[Clare]

Yes, I remember reading on Mercola that mass-produced honey is honey flavored corn syrup, since the beekeepers can cheaply feed high fructose corn syrup to the bees rather than letting them out to feed naturally. Yuck. I buy my raw honey at our local farmers' market. If I trust them, they have beautiful pictures of their land and they always bring a display box of bees for fun. This Saturday I will ask them about winter sugar-feeding...

[EZ rider]

I hardly ever see a bee in my neighborhood anymore. I hope they arn't going extinct ?

[rawstrength]

I got some GORGEOUS raw honey at my local farmer's market the other day, from a really nice couple who seem to really care about their bees and their land. The good stuff is out there if you know where to look :) .