Indian Raw Honey as a Green Product - Essay Example

Indian Raw Honey as a Green Product Indian honey has sustainable demand both in domestic and global market. Indians cherish honey as a heavenly substance that has magical, soothing effects on human body. Although honey harvesting had been closely associated with Indian rural life, recently it emerged to be a growing industry in India. Beekeeping has been intensified as a result of Indian rural development policy; and due to the growing global demand for green products. To illustrate, as an emerging trend now Indian raw honey is gaining popularity in market.

Raw honey is nothing but the unprocessed honey which might contain pollen, bees, and particles of honey combs. Obviously raw honey has gained higher demand as compared to the processed honey because people believe in its purity and quality. Honey is being used as the major ingredient of Indian traditional (Aurvedic) medicine. It is an excellent food supplement and can be used for preparing delicious sweets and drinks. (Sharma S D. & Kumar J., 2002). The by-products of honey like pollen and wax also have good demand in international market.

Pollen is also used as food supplement as it is rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals. Wax is the secretion of bees that has been widely used in cosmetic industry. (Ibid). Beekeeping industry would flourish as India has wide forest regions with unparalleled bio-diversity. Unlike other countries, Indian sub-continent is the natural habitat of variety of bee species. In addition, beekeeping is a simple job as well as a potential source of income for thousands of rural inhabitants.

For instance, from the North to South in many of the Indian states, including Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala, and Karnataka beekeeping has become a popular occupation. (Crane E., 1999 pp. 283-285). People keep bees in clay pots, boxes, logs, and in modern hives. In addition to modern farming wild honey is also being collected from mountain, forest regions such as Himalayan ranges and Western Ghats. (Ibid). The major advantage with this industry is that it does not have any adverse effect on the environment or wildlife.

The whole process of producing honey is 100 percent environmental friendly. Honey bees collect their raw materials nectar and pollen from natural and cultivated plants and flowers, and preserve it in combs. As they flit from one flower to the other it intensify the reproductive function of plants and crops. In addition, as honeybee is highly sensitive to chemicals, farmers are forced to reduce the application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in agricultural fields. Wild honey is fully organic and free from any sorts of contaminants.

In other words, the abundance of bee colonies in a specific area indicates the cleanliness of the land. From India several tones of honey products are being exported to foreign markets every year. There are numerous industries in India that are associated with honey processing and exporting business. Several artificial materials and equipments are used in modern honey harvesting and processing. At the industrial level it undergoes various processes such as heating, melting, filtering, and cooling.

The honey is usually stored in stainless steel tanks and epoxy coated barrels. However, the growing demand for raw honey would save the cost and energy now being spent for industrial processing and bottling. Therefore, as a green product, Indian raw honey would sustain in domestic and international market. Works Cited Crane E. The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting. Taylor & Hunting. 1999. Sharma S D., Kumar J. “Honey: A Splendid Gift of Nature”. The Tribune, 14 Jan. 2002. 5 Dec.

2009 http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020114/agro.htm