A letter from Mother Earth – Mother of honeys
For a World with Good, Unpolluted and Fair Honeys

(Photo Copyright Steve Benbow ©)

Honey Producers at Terre Madre will discuss a “Honey manifesto�.

What makes quality honey? Tradition, biodiversity, hygiene and no antibiotics; quality honey opposes the industrial model, which produces large quantities, using lots of chemicals and little human labor.

Below is a draft of the manifesto in English.

Check out a draft of the document, in different languages, at the main Terre Madre website, program for the 29th October.

On Earth, The Pollinating Bee is essential for the reproduction of life and for the environment.
The survival of bees is strongly threatened by the current trend of agronomical production and by
the use of chemical substances in agriculture which are increasingly dangerous.
Honey is an exceptional mix of the best “simple sugars� and micronutrients.
Honey is one of the food products least susceptible of environmental pollution. In fact, its purity is
preserved by the filter action of the plants, as well as by the fragility of bees which succumb,
without producing, faced with environmental pollution.
Beehive products are an important resource for human diet and health. In particular, in poor
economies beekeeping products can play an important role, not only as a nutritional supplement and
health benefit, but by contributing to the income of many rural families.
Worldwide beekeeping resources available today, are not properly exploited by rural populations.
“Honeys� production requires a considerable work force, and consequently it has a production cost
incomparably higher than industrially processed sugar.
Beekeeping is an art which demands wisdom and knowledge; The only way to combine it with the
intensive farming is to give antibiotics systematically and constantly to the bees.
There is not a single honey with a constant colour and aroma, that is always liquid (this is only
possible through industrial mixtures and processes). But what really exists is an enormous variety of
“honeys�, corresponding to the various botanical, environmental, territorial and traditional origins,
as well as to the different production methods.

For a World with Good, Unpolluted and Fair Honeys it is necessary that:

• Agricultural production methods are compatible with the life and wellbeing of pollinating insects
and any other form of life;
• Beekeeping is considered a development tool to reach food self-sufficiency through the increased
production of diversified products. This would create the possibility of acquiring and using honey
and other beehive products in local markets, especially in countries with low-income economies;
• The addition of sugar to the honey sold to the consumer is not allowed in any country . Such
adulteration of the product and its flavour is equivalent to destroying the possibility of increasing
the knowledge of honey and its acquainted consumption;
• Beekeepers’ honey remuneration is proportional to their labour input, and therefore the honeys’
price is higher than industrial sugar;
• The information on territorial and botanic origin of the honey (mono or multiflora) as well as its
variegated natural characteristics is guaranteed to the consumer;
• Transformation processes, thermic treatments and mixing procedures are clearly indicated to the
consumer on the manufacturer’s label;
• A big effort is made to identify and develop beekeeping production methods suitable to the
various environmental contexts, their tradition and local culture. Where possible, beehives with
honeycombs exclusively dedicated to honey production should be used.
• Priority is given to the genetic biodiversity by keeping bee ecotypes adapted to the different
environmental characteristics and territorial climatic conditions: Bees that are rustic and resistant to
pathologies.
• No country is allowed to give antibiotics to the bee colonies in order to treat the American
foulbrood.