“Food and human health”
Organic Honey Is A Sweet Illusion Introduction Organic food is supposed to guarantee better health because it doesn't contain any pesticides used in conventional agriculture. In the highschool Félix Le Dantec, we would like to produce an organic honey thanks to our bees installed on the terrace of the library. “A standard jar of honey requires bees to make a million flower visits. A colony might produce 50 to 100 such jars per year.” Pb: Is our honey really pesticides free ? “Considering the revered place of honey as the oldest natural sweetener, and considering that its insect makers- honey bees- are highly intolerant of pesticides, you might think honey would be the easiest food crop to produce for the "organic" food market. But you'd be wrong.”
Here is the primary problem in map form: The long reach of the superorganism: a typical foraging radius of a honey bee colony normally stays within five kilometers of the hive (marked by the red circle), but during times of dearth bees will fly more than twice as far in search of resources. Thus, a colony's foragers cover a staggering amount of territory. Because bees are furry, statically attractive little animals (useful for pollen collection), their bodies readily gather all sorts of environmental particles. Any agrochemical applied anywhere within a colony's extensive reach can end up back in the hive. Since beekeepers don't own the tens of thousands of acres surrounding their hives, they have no control over what their bees are bringing home. Organic honey isn't impossible. It's just beyond of the ability of most beekeepers. Bee yards situated in isolated spots deep in the Adirondacks, or mountain valleys in sparsely-populated New Mexico, can probably pull off honey free of agrochemicals. Most beekeepers operate within a bee's flight of pesticides, however, making "organic" honey an illusory proposition.
Reach: portée Dearth: disette To forage= to search for food Staggering: ahurissant Readily= easily Furry= with lots of hair Yard (US)= garden (UK)
Then there is a second, more insidious problem. The hydrocarbon chains of beeswax itself retain certain pesticides, including those used by conventional beekeepers against the ubiquitous Varroa mite. Over time pesticide residues accumulate in the combs, so chemicals linger or build for years beyond the original applications. By itself this might not present a problem for aspiring organic beekeepers, except that beekeepers routinely buy and sell wax as starter comb. A recent survey of pesticides in commercially-available beeswax recorded an astounding 98% of samples contaminated with miticides. An organic beekeeper who refrains from chemical pest control and situates her hives somewhere off in the wilderness is still going to have pesticide contamination unless she also abstains from using the omnipresent (and very useful) wax starter foundation.
Hive: ruche Beeswax: cire d'abeille Comb= mass of hexagonal wax cells built by honey bees in their nest to contain their larvae and store honey and pollen. Beekeeper: apiculteur To refrain from= to abstain from... As to whether: quant à savoir
As to whether agrochemical-free honey is significantly healthier for humans, To sidestep: éluder that's a contentious debate I'm all too happy to sidestep.” Author : Alex Wild, Curator of Entomology at the University of Texas at Austin Source : http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/compound-eye/organic-honey-is-a-sweet-illusion/
Understanding questions 1)Why honey is said to be healthy food?
2)Why is it so difficult to guarantee a free pesticides honey?
3)What could we do or check to harvest an organic honey in the highschool?
4)Could you explain why we would like to stop purchasing beeswax?
5)To your mind, why does Alex Wild prefer to sidestep the debate about agrochemical-free honey and better health?
Instruction for the short video you will have to make You may have noticed the new green square in the middle of the playground. Plants we put in ground are growing up but pionner plants are also taking over the place. In accordance with the Agenda 21 we try to respect, no pesticides will be used to remove these undesirable plants. Only hands and sweat! Make a video about you hand weeding in the green square. One of you will have to play the role of a classmate who is passing by and, surprised, is questionning some of you about your activity. You will give him explanations about the link between pesticides and diseases, the link between bees and plants (foraging bees, organic honey we'd like to yield, beeswax contamination, threat on biodiversity...) To feel at ease for this oral exercise, you will need to master very well your vocabulary for next week! DON'T FORGET YOU ARE PREPARING AN ORAL EXAM: THE MORE YOU WILL SPEAK, THE QUICKER YOU WILL MAKE PROGRESS and the best mark you will get for the continuous exam... E. Lacouture
