Fast Facts
- Per capita consumption of honey in America is 1.1 pounds per year.1
- In 2009, the U.S. produced only about 144 million pounds of the 382 million pounds of honey consumed.2
- Bee Culture magazine accurately predicted that the 2009 honey crop would be the worst on record.3
- To make up the difference between U.S. honey production and consumption, we rely on honey from other countries, including Canada, Argentina and Brazil, among other countries.4
- There are 210,000 beekeepers in the U.S.5
- A Penn State College of Medicine research team found that a small dose of buckwheat honey given before bedtime provided better relief of nighttime cough and sleep difficulty in children than no treatment or dextromethorphan (DM), a cough suppressant found in many over-the-counter cold medications.6
- Bees may travel as far as 55,000 miles and visit more than two million flowers to gather enough nectar to make just a pound of honey.7
- There are more than 300 unique kinds of honey in the United States, originating from such diverse floral sources as Clover, Eucalyptus and Orange Blossoms.8
- Honey is primarily composed of fructose, glucose and water. It also contains other sugars as well as trace enzymes, minerals, vitamins and amino acids.9
- Lighter colored honeys are mild in flavor, while darker honeys are usually more robust in flavor.10
- The color and flavor of honeys differ depending on the nectar source (the blossoms) visited by the honey bees. The color ranges from nearly colorless to dark brown.11
- Fifty percent of the population buys honey for direct consumption, while 75 percent of the population consumes honey as an ingredient in teas, breads, salad dressings and BBQ sauces, among other food items.12
- Almost a quarter of the 210 million pounds of honey imported by the United States was from countries who have no existing commercial honey export business.13
1 http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/blogs/bees/honey-beekeeping-47102806
2 http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/blogs/bees/honey-beekeeping-47102806
3 http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/blogs/bees/honey-beekeeping-47102806
4 http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/blogs/bees/honey-beekeeping-47102806
5 Seattle Post Intelligencer, "U.S. honey producers don’t have it easy, and some say industry board isn’t helping." December 31, 2008
6 http://live.psu.edu/story/27584
7 http://www.honey.com/nhb/about-honey/what-is-honey/
8 http://www.honey.com/nhb/about-honey/what-is-honey/
9 http://www.honey.com/nhb/about-honey/what-is-honey/
10 http://www.honey.com/nhb/about-honey/what-is-honey/
11 http://www.honey.com/consumers/honeyinfo/varietals.asp
12 http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/blogs/bees/honey-beekeeping-47102806
Honey Fast Facts
- Per capita consumption of honey in America is 1.1 pounds per year.1
Read all Fast Facts » - In 2009, the U.S. produced only about 144 million pounds of the 382 million pounds of honey consumed.2
Read all Fast Facts » - Bee Culture magazine accurately predicted that the 2009 honey crop would be the worst on record.3
Read all Fast Facts » - To make up the difference between U.S. honey production and consumption, we rely on honey from other countries, including Canada, Argentina and Brazil, among other countries.4
Read all Fast Facts » - There are 210,000 beekeepers in the U.S.5
Read all Fast Facts » - A Penn State College of Medicine research team found that a small dose of buckwheat honey given before bedtime provided better relief of nighttime cough and sleep difficulty in children than no treatment or dextromethorphan (DM), a cough suppressant found in many over-the-counter cold medications.6
Read all Fast Facts » - Bees may travel as far as 55,000 miles and visit more than two million flowers to gather enough nectar to make just a pound of honey.7
Read all Fast Facts » - There are more than 300 unique kinds of honey in the United States, originating from such diverse floral sources as Clover, Eucalyptus and Orange Blossoms.8
Read all Fast Facts » - Honey is primarily composed of fructose, glucose and water. It also contains other sugars as well as trace enzymes, minerals, vitamins and amino acids.9
Read all Fast Facts » - Lighter colored honeys are mild in flavor, while darker honeys are usually more robust in flavor.10
Read all Fast Facts » - The color and flavor of honeys differ depending on the nectar source (the blossoms) visited by the honey bees. The color ranges from nearly colorless to dark brown.11
Read all Fast Facts » - Fifty percent of the population buys honey for direct consumption, while 75 percent of the population consumes honey as an ingredient in teas, breads, salad dressings and BBQ sauces, among other food items.12
Read all Fast Facts » - Almost a quarter of the 210 million pounds of honey imported by the United States was from countries who have no existing commercial honey export business.13
Read all Fast Facts »
