Rome, August 6 - Italian bees are been killed off by the millions and environmentalists and honey producers warned today this was a sign of a worrisome turn for the environment.
The National Beekeepers' Association UNAAPI said the country was witnessing a silent "slaughter of bees" and that Italian honey production would plummet by at least 50% this year.
"Bees are our 'sentinels of the environment', very much like butterflies and fireflies. Unlike ants, termites or coachroaches they are extremely delicate and will not adapt to a negative environment," UNAAPI Chairman Francesco Panella told ANSA.
"A bee does not survive contact with toxic substances and dies before it even reaches the hive. Pure honey, in fact, is nature's real wonder product," said Panella, distressed that the shocking mortality rate has not yet shaken the authorities and the public out of their complacency.
He claims the situation in Italy is far worse than in neighbouring France where in June environmentalists and the influential daily Le Monde drummed up a campaign highlighting the plight of French bees, claiming they were being felled by a new high-tech pesticide being marketed by a major multinational.
Panella said ANAAPI was still collecting data but that in Italy the situation was compounded by the severe drought which has struck southern regions in particular.
"We are facing an ecological and economic disaster," he said.
He termed the new generation of pesticides "violent and virulent" because they are longer-lasting, encompassing treatment from seed through growth.
Bees have been especially hard hit in northern Italy where
vinegrowers have used deadlier pesticides to combat a new virus which destroys grape vines.
The Association has appealed to Environment Minister Giovanni Alemanno for financial support, claiming that hundreds of beekeepers risk bankruptcy while many others may be forced to give up their activities.
Panella explained that it is very expensive to replace entire colonies of bees and that beekeepers are allotted no type of aid from the state or from the European Union.
In an open letter to Alemanno, UNAAPI said it was also concerned about the vital role played by the industrious insects in the environment, warning that the cross pollination and reproduction of many wild plants was at risk.
The situation in central Italy is so critical that many apiarists are being forced to feed their bees to keep them alive.
"In Tuscany, Umbria and Abruzzo the production of honey has almost ground to a halt and some unique floral varities, like honeysuckle, dandelion or rhododendrum will not be produced at all this year," UNAAPI said.
"Unlike most other farmers, we don't receive subsidies from the government or from the EU although we are hoping that this fall the EU will give us a hand by approving our request to certify the production of organic honey," Panella said.
Ironically, Europe imports at least half of the honey it consumes because EU farmers simply can't keep up with market demand for the product.
"Most of us still produce honey using traditional methods.
We don't blend different types, heat it to very high temperatures, or market one type of honey by labelling it as another," Panella said, explaining why many European producers are up in arms over the lack of specific EU honey production regulations or sanctions.
The colour and flavour of genuine honeys vary depending on the blossoms visited by the bees. The colour ranges from clear to dark brown while flavours vary from very mild to distinctly bold or bitter, depending on where the bee has buzzed.
Yet, Panella explained that unless the consumer is a veritable connoisseur or buys his honey directly from a local producer there are no guarantees on the quality of honey sold in the shops.
"The rules that apply to the sale of honey are outdated. By way of explanation, I can compare the beekeepers' situation to that of wine producers before the EU applied specific rules on the sale of wine. When a consumer goes to a supermarket and wants to buy a jar of honey it's next to impossible to fathom the difference between the different brands. When a client buys
a bottle of Brunello wine he's actually getting the real thing because of the certified labelling. The same guarantees simply don't apply to honey. One can sell a mixture of floral varities
and label it as clover honey," Panella said.
The environmentalist association Legambiente and the gourmet association Slow Food, which promotes the preservation of the world's food and agricultural heritage, have rushed to UNAAPI
side in a drive to spark public interest in the plight of the bees and the defence of genuine honey.
Another unexpected stroke of luck came when the town council of Montalcino, the land of the prestigious Brunello wine, offered to host a meeting of Italian apiarists from September 6 to 8, said Panella.
"It's wonderful to get a helping hand from great wine producers."
"We are also optimistic that Alemanno will respond to our plea and attend the meeting in Montalcino. We really need to get a dialogue going with the authorities and get them to listen to our requests."
Panella was also upbeat over the news that Slow Food has decided to focus on the honey issue at its Salone del Gusto fair in Turin this fall.

(di Anna Miele, tratto da Herald Tribune/Ansa, 7 agosto 2002)

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