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Related: About this forumOrganic honey is a sweet success for Cuba as other bee populations suffer
Organic honey is a sweet success for Cuba as other bee populations suffer
When the Caribbean state was no longer able to afford pesticides which have been linked with declining bee populations it made a virtue out of a necessity
Reuters in San Antonio de los Baños
Tuesday 9 February 2016 12.00 EST
Long known for its cigars and rum, Cuba has added organic honey to its list of key agricultural exports, creating a buzz among farmers as pesticide use has been linked to declining bee populations elsewhere.
Organic honey has become Cubas fourth most valuable agricultural export behind fish products, tobacco and drinks, but ahead of the Caribbean islands more famous sugar and coffee, said Theodor Friedrich, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisations (FAO) representative for Cuba.
All of [Cubas] honey can be certified as organic, Friedrich told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Its honey has a very specific, typical taste; in monetary value, its a high-ranking product.
After the collapse in 1991 of the Soviet Union, Cubas main trading partner, the island was unable to afford pesticides due to a lack of foreign currency, coupled with the US trade embargo. By necessity, the government embraced organic agriculture, and the policies have largely stuck.
More:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/09/organic-honey-is-a-sweet-success-for-cuba-as-other-bee-populations-suffer
Environment & Energy:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/112796806
airplaneman
(1,239 posts)A lot of bee keepers keep more bees than the countryside can support and instead of flower nectar these bees are fed corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup. This weakens the bees and makes them more susceptible to disease and collapse syndrome. Organic is sustainable and healthy industrial farming and industrial husbandry is not sustainable and questionably healthy.
-Airplane