Years ago there were 10X as many professional beekeepers in the industry. Honey prices were high and honest businesses only purchased honey from reliable sources. International markets looking to drive down the number of beekeepers dumped millions of gallons of honey throughout the 80s and 90s on the US for less than the cost of production — called economic dumping — in hopes to drive down the honey business and affect cascading markets.

It worked and honey prices never recovered. There have been regulations but tons of internationally dumped honey still makes it into the US each year. This is why supporting local beekeepers and buying raw, local honey is so important for the future of American beekeeping.