The Benefits of Sustainable Honey on the Environment

At African Bronze Honey, sustainability isn’t a tagline or something we just talk about. It is woven into the very DNA of what we do and why our wild forest honey is so special to our beekeeping project partners, beekeepers and their communities and our customers. Our vision is to create a global supply chain of the healthiest, most sustainable honey on the planet. Every ounce of honey we sell brings us just a little bit closer to that dream and makes a positive impact on the environment and communities around us. 

Keep reading below for how honey can help us all collectively create a healthier and more sustainable planet. 

What Is Sustainability?

By definition, sustainability is the broad term applied to the efforts that aim to avoid the depletion of natural resources. The ultimate goal of sustainability is for humans to safely co-exist on Earth with the environments around us. Sustainability can take many forms and impact all areas of our lives, industries and communities.

Our Four Pillars of Sustainability 

At African Bronze Honey, we have built our business around the fundamentals of sustainable beekeeping. We use four primary principles to do our part in protecting the environment. 

We believe in food that:

• Helps to regenerate our planet instead of damaging it
• Enhances bee populations, biodiversity, wilderness areas and the soil 
• Business practices that create sustainable jobs for marginalised, remote communities
• Harvesting methods that protect forests from deforestation

As an environmentally responsible business, we routinely review our processes to be responsive to new research and developments in sustainability. As a result of our focus on wild forest honey, African Bronze contributes towards sustainable communities, wildlife areas and forests in southern Africa. 

Why Is Honey One Of The Most Sustainable Foods On The Planet?

When it comes to food production, sustainability encompasses all aspects of the production method, from growing, harvesting to even transporting the food we eat every day. But unfortunately, most of the globally accepted agricultural practices are not sustainable and can cause harm to our communities and the environment. 

Many of these agricultural practices can have detrimental effects on specific species of plants and animals, including the global bee population. The root cause of the collapse of the bee population is the extensive use of “neonics”. Neonicotinoids are commonly used pesticides that destroy bee populations which can have profound impacts on our planet. 

Without bees, our planet would be in dire circumstances. Bees pollinate our fruit, vegetables, plants and trees. Healthy bees improve the plant diversity providing more food for wild animal populations. By protecting our bee population, we can protect water resources, combat climate change and provide a delicious, all-natural sweet treat at an affordable price. 

Our Sustainability Credentials

At African Bronze Honey, we are a Certified B Corp. Becoming Certified B Corp involves a rigorous process to evaluate how you do business and how your business contributes to sustainability. 

We have been named Best for the World Changemakers three years in a row. We are Certified Organic (Eco Cert), a Member of the Fair Trade Federation, and a Canadian Food Agency Registered Honey Processing Facility. And we’re currently working on becoming plastic neutral!

The Many Uses of Sustainable Honey 

In The Kitchen

Forest honey is an incredible natural sweetener for almost every meal or snack. Some of our favourite ways to incorporate honey into your daily diet include as a natural coffee or tea sweetener, as a base for salad dressings and marinades, in baking and bread and as a spread or dessert topping. 

No matter how you use our wild forest honey, keeping a jar handy in your pantry is a great way to find unexpected uses for this sustainable sweet treat. 

For Wellness

In addition to being the perfect dose of sweetness in all your cooking and baking, our wild forest honey has plenty of other uses. As an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agent, wild forest honey promotes wellness from the inside out and can help boost healing and overall health. Honey is packed with prebiotics which are good for the overall health of the natural gut biome. Prebiotics act as food for the good bacteria in the human digestive system. 

With natural antimicrobial properties, a spoonful of honey is the perfect remedy for a sore throat, to stimulate digestion or even to heal a burn or wound. Wild forest honey is even safe for pets in moderation. 

In Your Beauty Routine

As a natural antibacterial, honey can soothe a number of different skin conditions. Raw honey (also known as unprocessed honey) is honey in its most natural state. Raw honey, like ours, packs the most benefits for your beauty routine because of higher levels of natural vitamins, minerals and natural antioxidants. Honey has been shown to treat acne, moisturise skin, fade scars and even heal wounds! A little bit of honey can be a great lip balm, eczema treatment, skin salve or even as a natural remedy for insect bites! The effectiveness of honey to sooth skin conditions is proportional to its antimicrobial properties and the strength of its antioxidant levels. For most people, a diet high in antioxidants can help to reduce these free radicals in the body and can repair the damage to the body's cells. 

There is so no shortage of the amazing things that honey can do! To learn more about how our African Bronze honey compares to agricultural honey, check out our most recent blog. 

Shop Our Honey

Our African Bronze wild forest honey is harvested sustainably by beekeepers in southern Africa using only the most sustainable practices. The harvest is focussed in areas where there is no agriculture or industry – therefore no pesticides and no chemicals – just pure, high-quality, ethically sourced honey. Our honey is making a difference in our world by helping to provide sustainable incomes for more than 10,000 beekeepers as well as helping to preserve pristine African forests and wilderness areas.