# Organic beekeeping VS organic honey



## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

First off, what are the "organic" standards? Do we have a current government standard to go by?


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## blackflag (Apr 27, 2010)

My guess there is but I have no expertise in the area. However, I have a fair amount of experience on the dairy side and OMRi is the organization that is used to get information on the local certifiers. It is a national group and the idea is if it is OMRI approved it usually is approved by the local or regional groups. If you search OMRI it should take you to their web site. Again not an expert but maybe that can help.


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

At the USDA Organic site I find the following proposal/draft of an organic apiculture certification. http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5058473

This draft is dated 2001.. wonder if it ever got any further than this?


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

Once "Organic" was codified into regulations, I quit using it. It's a tool of big business now. But I'll leave politics out of this.

I still sell my honey as small 'o' organic, but I also say natural and raw and treatment free and whatever else I can as well.


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## BeeCurious (Aug 7, 2007)

WFS,

You say you stopped using big "O" organic, but your blog clearly states that you are "Providing Local Northwest Arkansas Organic 100% Natural Honey".

Are you so isolated that you can make any claim to producing "organic honey"?


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

My own blog. How on earth did I miss that? ;-)

I can change it if you don't like it, it's just part of the title. But read my posts. I don't use organic, and I definitely don't use Organic, and I avoid USDA Organic like the plague. I just don't feel that they really mean anything anymore. People I sell honey to do understand what real organic is, and I get in conversations all the time with people when they ask how my honey and bees are organic. But I'm just sellin' honey. Organic among friends is not the same as organic among professionals.


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## Riskybizz (Mar 12, 2010)

Bee Curious that was priceless. Most individuals buying honey would have no idea regarding the potential misconception regarding "organic honey". We might, but the aveage person wouldn't. I would assume that most people would buy "organic" honey over non-organic honey and thats why some people sell there honey under the organic umbrella. Can I prove your honey isn't organic? No. Can you prove it is? No. Case closed.


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## Omie (Nov 10, 2009)

Personally, I think no one should use the term 'organic' with honey unless they are officially _certified_ as organic- and who is? "Organic" becomes more and more meaningless when lots of people use it who are not certified organic.
It's far better just to say 'natural' or 'untreated', 'raw', etc- isn't that closer to the truth, conveying a general accurate description in a more truthful way?


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

What about, instead of organic or Organic, we get back to using PURE as the standard descriptor of what is in the jar. "PURE Honey", was for ages the standard, typically used, term found on most labeled honey bottled for sale.

I also believe that one can, and therefor say that they do, use organic practices in the production of their homey. Kinda the def of Treatment Free Honey. No? Each user of the word might define it differently, I imagine.


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## BeeCurious (Aug 7, 2007)

"Pure", "Raw", and "Chemical Free" are all terms that I would use to describe honey...

To be more honest, some could lable their bottles "Or-Gan-Ic", or perhaps "Or-Gan-Eek" depending on the location of their hives.


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## LauraJS (Mar 3, 2011)

Getting ready to market my cattle as organic and boy let me tell you it is a lot of stuff to deal with. Organic is something you simply cannot claim unless the USDA certifies your crop, meaning your honey. With our cows they cannot have had vaccines in the last 3 months of pregnancy until weaning the calf which would then bee an organic beef. Nor can the cow or calf eat any feed products not certified organic by USDA. You can't even put them in a corral with treated lumber. 
So I would think isolation would be a big factor in organic honeybee management. No virus management, no treated blossoms, no feed that isn't organic. So if you cannot do all that and keep records, you can market as natural honey or some other buzzword, but not organic.:no:


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Last I heard the honey standard was still in draft. I have not heard that it was approved yet.


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