Fruit trees, such as peach, apricot, cherry, grape, plum, apple, pear, kiwi, mulberry, almond, are in full bloom at this time of year here in Naoussa, spreading the scent of spring and anticipation of the pleasure of various delicious fruits. Different factors must come together in order to be able to harvest the fruit in summer and autumn. On the one hand, the weather and the location play significant roles, on the other hand, the presence of pollinators such as honey bees, wild bees or bumblebees. The honey bee is one of the most important farm animals and its presence is an indicator that nature is unspoiled.
The worldwide bee mortality is taking on dramatic proportions in some places. In Central Europe, there are about a third less bee colonies today than 30 years ago. A coexistence between humans and honeybees that has lasted for thousands of years is in danger.
Beeswax is not considered vegan. … But the harvest of beeswax is actually necessary to keep a beehive healthy. Beekeeping is unfortunately necessary today to ensure the preservation of the species. So why do vegans not want to use beeswax?
Beeswax: precious raw material
Beeswax is made from the honeycombs of honeybees. The worker bees of a colony produce the viscous material in their wax glands of the abdomen. The hexagonal wax combs of honey bees are of great importance for the bee colony. They serve simultaneously as a breeding place for their offspring, as a shelter for the night, and as a storage chamber for their honey.
Through incubation and wear, the fresh, light yellow honeycombs take on a darker and darker color over time. The beekeeper periodically sorts out these old and eventually uninhabitable honeycombs from his colonies. This keeps the hive clean, creates space and protects the colony from pathogens.
In a beekeeping facilities, they sort out the old honeycombs, melt them down and clean them of dirt particles. The heating process produces pure beeswax again. From this newly obtained raw material, the beekeeper can cast on new middle walls for honeycomb construction for his hive. He can also sell part of the purified wax, since new wax is always being produced.
The use of beeswax helps to prevent bee mortality and to keep our food quality secure.
I still find it better to buy beeswax from local beekeepers than to import cocoa butter from faraway countries, even if this means I cannot declare my products VEGAN.
For me, SUSTAINABILITY comes before advertising effectiveness.
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