By Matilda
Everyone wants a to eat fruit, and everyone likes honey, right? But not many people think about where it comes from, for example, I’m sure everyone in this country has eaten at least one banana, which is 68 million bananas. Everyday bananas are imported to the UK from Latin America on refrigerated cargo ships that can take up to 12 days to arrive, just so we can eat a banana. It uses electricity to keep all the bananas cold for 12 days which is a lot of electricity, and just the journey there and back uses a lot of diesel and releases greenhouse gases into the environment. Trying to buy your fruit locally and seasonally, or grow your own has a much lower environmental impact and is much kinder to the planet.
Let’s think about honey also, the type you buy in the supermarket often is imported from abroad and carries a large carbon footprint, and even if it is made in the UK, you don’t know how the honey has been produced, or how well the bees have been treated as there are currently no laws mandating humane treatment of bees for honey production in the UK. So, it is possible that the bees may have been harmed just so we can have a little honey on our pancakes. Try to buy local honey if you can, this is a more sustainable way to get honey and the bees may have been treated better than a big corporation. You can also make your own honey made out of dandelions and sugar- this is a great way to get honey if you are vegan or want to ensure no bees are harmed.
Directions for making Dandelion ‘Honey’: just pick dandelion heads (you need about 200 but be sure to leave some behind for pollinators!), give them a shake to make sure any minibeasts can escape, pick all the petals off an add to a large pan with some lemon slices, 500ml of water and approx. 450g of granulated sugar. Simmer it on the hob on medium heat till the sugar melts and the mixture reduces down to a syrup, once cooled pour the mixture into jars through a fine sieve and let it set in the fridge. It keeps a long time and will last you through winter when the dandelions grow- great for adding to teas to soothe a cough or cold!
