The hot topic. The city versus the country. Rolling green hills and wide-open spaces or energetic streets and humming manicured gardens. It's time to answer a burning question, Is Honey from an urban beehive better than Honey from a country beehive? Let's dive right in.
We need to have a base for what we are saying, and we are going to the ABC's The Great Australian Bee Challenge to help us work through this topic. If you have not already seen it, we recommend you go check it out on ABC iview.
Who doesn’t love escaping the city and relaxing in the countryside? It helps to rest the mind and escape the bustle of the urban environment.
The debate between Urban and Country has raged on for centuries. Some like the hustle and bustle of an energetic city, while others the calm and fresh countryside. When it comes to our food though, almost everyone agrees that the country is the way to go. This mindset has been a result of how our societies are structured. Those in the city need less space, and therefore the price of land is high. Farmers need more space and cheap land. Over time, sharp lines of separation between farms or country and cities have been drawn.
Who can argue too energetically that the country is the best place to produce food? Almost all our food comes from there, and it's ordinarily excellent quality. But what about Honey?
There is a trend of Urban Bee Keeping growing. When you go to the supermarket; however, you don't see the Urban Honey on the shelves. Is this because Urban Honey is worse than Country Honey?
No doubt as you have walked the aisle of the supermarket, you've seen the brands of Honey on the shelf, echoing the countryside and its purity. But what about Urban Honey? Let's look at the characteristics of the two.
So country honey works precisely the way you think. A Beekeeper keeps hives on lots. These lots can have thousands of beehives on them, depending on the local environments capacity to host the colonies. A Beekeeper harvests the Honey as appropriate, bottles it and sells it. Easy right?
Monocropping is the agricultural practice of growing a single crop year after year on the same land. This is a precarious form of farming and can create bio-diversity havoc. Unfortunately, many farmers have to resort to this method to make a living.
Country BeeKeepers are facing a challenge today that seems to be getting worse. Monocropping. Monocropping is when a farmer decides to grow only one type of crop, maybe two. Monocropping usually results in a permanent plantation. It makes sense for the farmer. They can focus on producing high yield, high-value products. Think of Apple and Almond orchards. But this creates a problem for BeeKeepers.
Most of the countryside used to be either fields filled with flowers or forests with loads of native trees. Farmers cleared the land to grow food. Now there are only one or two types of plants growing instead of thousands. These one or two types of plants only produce flowers at a specific time of year and for a short time. This is bad news for bees which need a wide range of food just like us humans. Beekeepers have had to resort to moving their colonies across the countryside chasing food and often having to feed them to compensate for the lack of variety in their diet. Many Beekeepers manage to get it right, but it is hazardous, costly and tough work.
What is the alternative?
Some country Beekeepers can secure sites which boarder on nature conservation sites. Some even manage to secure locations within these parks. The parks provide an abundant variety of food for the bees. Beekeepers can tell you the flavour of your Honey as these parks are dominated by one or two plants.
It's not all smooth sailing for them either. Native forests react to the weather, and there is no specific time when the plants will flower. Many Australian native plants will bloom either in winter or spring in the southern areas. But these plants will only flourish if there is rain. If there is a drought, or the rains are late, the plants don't bloom. Colonies struggle during these times and BeeKeeprs often have to resort to feeding them.
One final point. Country Honey has to be transported from the country to the city. This increase the carbon footprint that Honey produces.
Now let's talk about Urban Honey.
Urban Beekeeping involves keeping colonies in the Urban Environment. It's nothing new, people have been doing it for thousands of years. Urban Colonies do have advantages over their country cousins.
The beautiful gardens that cities produce provide bees with an abundant variety of food. It’s the equivalent of us humans getting to eat lots of different foods, rather than being forced to eat only potatoes for two weeks. Generally, bees in the city are healthier than those in the country.
Urban environments host a much larger variety of plants. People bring in plants from the homelands, botanical gardens are set up, and citizens build their backyard parks. It's great for biodiversity and the environment, as long as any introduced species remain in the city. Ensuring Bees have an adequate variety of food can sometimes be an issue, but generally speaking, is a lot easier to deal with thanks to this biodiversity.
It does not mean that Urban BeeKeepers are free of troubles. Urban Beekeeping can be challenging too. Locating appropriate safe properties for hives is a challenge. Educating the local community on the importance of Bees and how to react around them is even harder. Pollutants and chemicals are always a concern and with that potential bio-hazards.
How does the Honey stack up?
Well, unlike its country counterpart, it is hard to classify the flavour of Urban Honey definitively. This is due to the large variety of potential plants the bees can visit to make Honey. So you won't get flavoured Honey, and it will vary in flavour from harvest to harvest.
But it does have it's benefits. Generally, the bees are healthier because of the variation in their diet. They are Protected from harsh weather events by buildings and human activity. And as is becoming increasingly more critical, when you buy Urban Honey from a local Beekeeper, the Honey has a far smaller carbon footprint.
So objectively, what is better? Urban Honey or Country Honey?
The Great Australian Bee Challenge pitted four samples of Honey against each other. Two examples from country hives and two from the city. A chef tried both and announced a winner. The city hive!
And the runner up? The second city hive. And they are not the only ones to feel that way. Many more chefs and food critics are choosing to use Urban Honey of Country Honey.
Buying honey from a local BeeKeeper has loads of benefits. For one, you help reduce your carbon footprint. And two, if you're nice to them, they might sell you some honey in the comb. Take it from us; this is the best honey you will ever have, especially if it is straight out of the hive.
That all said, we don't want to tell you what you must enjoy. Instead, we want to help you make an informed decision about what you would prefer to purchase and eat. Food taste is incredibly subjective. We encourage you to try a bit of both and make up your mind as to which you prefer. If you cant find an Urban Beekeeper near you, you can always get some Honey from Urban Bee Project Australia.
In the meantime, try to get your Honey directly from a local Beekeeper instead of from the supermarket. You might find a secret supply that will take you on a new flavour sensation.
We hope that you enjoyed this article. If you would like to read more, head over to our other blogs to find out more about Urban Bee Keeping.
Until our next blog, make friends with a bee. Maybe share a scotch finger with it. Everyone likes a scotch finger.