A little bit of good news

A bad 24 hours or so, going by the front page of the La Crosse Tribune website. But one item added a little cheer (at least to my late afternoon): "Wis. Senate passes honey regulation." The only thing standing in the way of this labeling requirement becoming law is Governor Doyle's veto, and I have to think that even the Flavored Sugar Syrup Lobby--if such existed--would be hard-pressed to pull that one off.

Granted, I'm extremely biased (being a beekeeper, albeit not a honey-seller), but this is one of those times when the regulators and the regulated worked hand-in-glove to pull off rules that benefit everyone. (Peddlers of--ahem!--"mislabeled" syrup excepted.) When this was discussed at the 2009 Wisconsin Honey Producers Association's* summer meeting, the attitude toward it was much more than favorable. This despite the general understanding that there would be some sort of fee & the possibility of inspection requirements--not something that business people normally relish.

The difference in this case--apart from the sheer principle of truth-in-advertising--is market differentiation. Competing with other Wisconsin bee-ranchers is one thing; competing against fraudsters (who, incidently, artificially drive down the price of the legitimate product) is something else entirely.

I expect that the price of honey will bobble upward in the next year or two. Which, on the surface, doesn't seem like good news for Wisconsin consumers. But given that at least some of them weren't getting what they ostensibly paid for, it's hard to argue that such regulation isn't in the public interest. If people want to junk up their diets with cheap corn syrup, that's their choice. But those who don't also deserve to have their choice honored with the real deal.

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* Full disclosure: My husband Dennis is the President for the WHPA's Western District. And once a year I take notes at the District meeting, which grants me the exalted title of District Secretary. I try not to let the power go to my head...really I do... ;-)