Europe, beware — now or never — it’s about the bees,
the beekeepers, and the consumers!

According to the European Commission, half of the honey (which can hardly even be called honey) is counterfeit. The Honey Platform group, established by the European Commission to develop solutions, has already started working — and we support it. The group will define analytical methods in cooperation with experts, methods that will be recognized across Europe, especially by inspection services. Beekeeping urgently needs reform, which is why it is crucial that concrete measures to support beekeepers and protect consumers are adopted no later than the end of this year. In the meantime, the import of honey into Europe from the countries most associated with counterfeit honey must be banned. This must be done to protect consumers, so they can still enjoy real honey — honey that strengthens health, not “fake” honey that can even be harmful to it. Honey control must be MANDATORY at entry points into Europe, as this kind of honey must never reach store shelves!

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The bee is the main pollinator for food production, as about 30% of plants directly depend on bee pollination, and bees are increasingly important for maintaining biodiversity. Unfortunately, today, bees can no longer survive without beekeepers. Therefore, Europe must provide direct payments from agricultural and environmental policies for every bee colony — as compensation for the free pollination service provided by bees. Just this past winter, approximately 50% of bee colonies in Europe collapsed. Without immediate financial incentives for beekeepers to continue breeding bees, we are facing a disaster — in terms of food production and biodiversity conservation! Pollination cannot be imported!

 

It is time for Europe to launch a unified European promotional campaign — to encourage Europeans to choose food of European origin. It is time for Europe to protect Europeans, especially European farmers and beekeepers, and most importantly, to finally protect European consumers — so they can once again enjoy high-quality, healthy food, such as honey and other products from local areas (from their own country or at least from Europe). If we are talking about the sustainable development of Europe, then the first step is the consumption of fresh, local food, without “million-kilometer” transport routes!

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