ALL ABOUT WHOLESOME HONEY: THE SWEET NECTAR THAT BENEFITS BRAZILIAN COMMUNITIES

Who doesn’t love the taste of honey? Revered throughout history by many different cultures around the world, honey has been called a “food of the gods,” and no wonder. Given all the factors that go into creating honey—honeybees, flowering plants, and a humming hive—it’s quite obvious what makes honey so special. While the honey-making process is amazing, there are many factors that can impact the quality of honey—from geographic location to the use of pesticides. What makes Wholesome honey so special? For starters, it’s organic, Fair Trade Certified, and has a rich, multi-floral taste.

Sourced from the Northeast and Southeast regions of Brazil, Wholesome works directly with beekeepers to source USDA Certified Organic honey from some of the most pristine, untouched areas in the world. Deep within the rainforest and Caatinga Biome regions of Brazil, our beekeepers and their hives are located miles and miles away from civilization and industrialized agriculture. That means the flora and honeybees in these regions aren’t exposed to genetically modified organisms, chemical pesticides or herbicides. (This is in stark contrast to some “local” honeys across the US that are sourced from flowers and bees that have been exposed to pesticides.) Since the bees in these areas are Africanized bees, they’re more resistant to disease, and their hives aren’t treated with antibiotics or other veterinary drugs. In turn, our bees freely forage on native wildflowers, helping them produce delicious, organic honey that’s free from pesticides and other environmental contaminants.

Since we source our honey from wild and protected Brazilian forests across the country, our bees are exposed to many different types of flowering trees and plants throughout different times of the year. This results in honey with a rich, multi-floral taste; a honey that’s 100% pure and natural, adding a satisfying sweetness to your favorite foods and beverages. Like wine, chocolate or coffee, honey has the amazing ability to showcase terroir, or “taste of place”—flavor that’s been clearly influenced by the climate and geography of its environment. Reflecting the diverse abundance of flowering Brazilian plants, Wholesome Organic Honey has a light butterscotch flavor that pairs perfectly with warm biscuits, hard cheese, Greek yogurt, oatmeal, smoothies, tea, coffee and more. In fact, we have some of the best honey in the world, as voted on at the 2013 World Beekeeping Awards by International Congress of Apiculture.

We’re proud of the fact that all our honey is Certified Organic and Fair Trade Certified. Beekeepers receive a guaranteed purchase price for their honey, are treated with respect, and are provided with safe working conditions. They’re supported in practicing sustainable, environmentally conscious sourcing. Additionally, we pay a premium to our beekeeping cooperatives on every purchase of Fair Trade honey that we buy. Communities subsequently vote on how these funds are used. In the past, our partner beekeeping cooperatives have used our Fair Trade premiums to increase productivity through training and technical assistance; improve living conditions; acquire honey extraction facilities, equipment and vehicles; plant native honey-producing vegetation; build cisterns for water storage and increase production through hive donation. (More than 30,000 hives have been donated so far.)

Our beekeepers depend on the income from Wholesome Honey Fair Trade programs. Knowing that our beekeeping communities are benefitting from all their hard work gives us confidence that Fair Trade is the best way—and the only way—to conduct business.

There are so many different types of honey on the market today…but once you know the impact organic, Fair Trade honey can have on people and the planet, it makes it so much easier to choose. So drizzle, spread and stir our honey to your heart’s content…and most of all, enjoy!


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