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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Elisabeth Curtis <granda.curtis AT gmail.com>
  • To: annallys Goodwin-Landher <annallys AT hotmail.com>
  • Cc: griz AT mindspring.com, OCBA <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Re; honey vs syrup
  • Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 08:29:32 -0500

I am really enjoying hearing all these different perspectives and information coming from the listserve. Fascinating stuff. -Elisabeth

On Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 9:13 PM, annallys Goodwin-Landher <annallys AT hotmail.com> wrote:
Tom,

I appreciate the time, effort and dedication it takes to assess risk.  However, no research exists that addresses the synergistic effect of small doses of human manufactured chemicals on humans, bees, animals, and other life on this planet. 

There was a long period in the history of beekeeping where the assessed risk of using human manufactured chemicals on bees was considered negligible.  The bee school I attended did teach about how the human manufactured chemicals are used and every single presenter related that it might be a good idea to use them as little as possible.  This might just apply to our food sources and bee food sources. 

Regards,

Annallys Goodwin-Landher
PO Box 2744
Chapel Hill, NC 27515
919 933-9109
annallys AT hotmail.com
 



From: griz AT mindspring.com
To: ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:13:16 -0500
Subject: [ocba] Re; honey vs syrup


One of the things I do in my work is risk assessment.  Right or wrong, I look at the honey vs. syrup question a little differently than I’ve seen expressed thus far. 

 

1)      The actual risk you take by consuming honey with trace amounts of human manufactured chemicals (from sugar) is minuscule, vanishingly small, even if you sat down to a huge portion of honey.

2)      The actual risk you take by consuming honey with naturally occurring botulinum spores (often present in honey) is high enough that if you are a child (<1 year), due to differences in digestion that I don’t have a clue about, you can develop a serious toxicity eating honey (botulism poisoning).

3)      The actual risk you take by consuming honey that was made from naturally occurring blooming azaleas, rhododendrons, laurels, and probably many other plants is case by case, but can cause a type of intoxication and I hear even death on rare occasions.  If you are a healthy person, this is probably not a concern, but if you are old and/or have health issues, it could happen.  Moreover, these sorts of potential problems with “toxic honey” are much more likely to occur with hobby beekeepers than commercial honey.

4)      If you drive or ride in a car, there is something like a 100% chance that in your lifetime you will suffer a life threatening event, and yet many of us happily motor around, texting, radio on high, steering with our pinky finger, oblivious. 

5)      About the riskiest thing us men can do is to be unmarried! (shaves about 10 years off your life expectancy)

 

People are willing to assume huge risk if they feel they are the one in control, but even a tiny risk and no control = HUGE worry.  Worry first about things with actual high risk, and things way down the list (“tainted” sugar) are largely a waste of time and energy (and money).  If you use tobacco products or alcohol (both known human carcinogens), are a rock climber or a farmer and worry about honey contamination from sugar, well, you get the picture. 

 

My personal objective with beekeeping is the enhancement/maximization of pollination in my backyard nano-farm.  If you think about how much energy goes into growing sugar cane, then processing the sugar and shipping it NC, there is a lot of embodied energy (oil) in 5 pounds, many times more than the food value contained in the sugar itself.  I am new to beekeeping and am going to try to use as little sugar as possible, and if that means the bees get most of the honey, so be it.  I get the fruits and vegetables.

 

Anyway, just sayin’…

 

Tom Grizzle

Chapel Hill native


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--
Elisabeth




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