I’m offered quite a few American books to review and sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t. I’m so glad I did say yes to this one as it is a very well-written and interesting book about a general subject which is highly relevant to UK readers but a specific case study that is unfamiliar territory.
Did you know that California produces c80% of the world’s almond crop and that it depends on millions of bees travelling thousands of miles across the USA each year? I did, but not in any detail. The detail is fascinating because it tells us so much about intensive agriculture, or in the words of this book’s subtitle ‘Big Ag’. ‘Bitter Honey’ has a double meaning in that almond honey doesn’t taste very good, and doesn’t fetch much of a price but also it has a price for bees, bee-keepers and the environment.
I had heard a little about the migration of bee-hives on trucks when in California one time but I had just thought that it sounded quite interesting. It is very interesting as a case study of how specialisation in agriculture can often lead to short-ish term profits but also to long-term problems of ecology and economics. The fact that this is happening away from the UK makes it. somehow, easier to concentrate on the details of the case study without picking sides at all. Well, it did for me.
Jennie Durant is a journalist and she has a PhD in environmental science and management and I think this is her first book. It’s a cracker! From Honey Bees and Almond trees (both non-native to California) to wider discussions about sustainable agriculture, this is a very good read.
The cover? Almond trees and bee-hives but not a very exciting image is it? I’d give it 6/10.
Bitter Honey: Big Ag’s threat to bees and the fight to save them by Jennie Durant is published by Princeton University Press.
You could buy this book from Bookshop.org and I have set up a booklist to make that easy through this link https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/MarkAvery I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
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