Sweeten Rosh Hashanah with Fair Trade Honey

Rosh Hashanah is not complete until we lick the honey off our apple slices, and start our new year with pure sweetness!

This isn’t the situation for most beekeepers in Latin America and Asia, where they are dependent on local middlemen to buy their honey.  Given this weak bargaining position, they’re forced to sell it at fraction of its real market value, and are not able to make a sustainable livelihood.

Fair Trade offers producers an agreed upon minimum price, independent of market rates.  Bee keeper cooperatives are linked directly to Fair Trade buyers, cutting out the middlemen, and creating longer term sustainability.

Fair Trade certification assures the beekeepers of a mutually agreed upon minimum price. Here are some Kosher certified Fair Trade honey choices:

GloryBee produces a wide variety of OU Kosher Pareve certified Fair Trade organic honey products (raw, coffee blossom, organic). You can buy them on-line or find a local store that carries them.

Heavenly Organics gathers honey from naturally occurring wild beehives in India and the Himalayas. It is 100% raw organic, fair trade certified and OU Kosher certified. You can purchase online or visit their store locator to identify where to purchase the honey near you.

Trader Joes’ Organic Raw Honey also comes from bee-keeping cooperatives in Mexico, and is simply the uncooked “unadulterated nectar” of jungle wildflowers. I t has Circle K (OK) Kosher certification and is available in all their stores.

Wholesome Sweetener’s Organic honeys (raw, amber, bottles/jars), certified kosher by the Orthodox Union, come from Fair Trade cooperatives in Mexico, so the farmers also receive a “sweet” and fair wage. You can now purchase their products online at their Amazon store.

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