Honeylogy o Mielogia

Image without permission from http://www.ccpollen.com/pgprop3.shtml

Hace un par de años me dio por hacer un PhD, pero como soy un loco que siempre ha vivido con "permisos especiales", tenía que probar en la mía.

Esta es la carta a la Facultad de Enología de la Universidad de Davis, California donde les proponía la creación de una nueva ciencia o disciplina. Me fue mal con Enología, pero bien con FoodScience donde me derivaron.

Al final consideré que estaba viejo para tanta locura y desistí.

Publico la propuesta para ver si hay algún otro loco que agarre la posta. Sigo pensando que es una excelente propuesta y justo y necesario para dignificar a la miel y la apicultura.

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Honeylogy

Adding Value Through Knowledge In Beekeeping

by Juanse Barros J.

How to create a new science? What comes first, the chicken or the egg? Is social marketing enough to add value?

Even though honey has been with mankind before wine, wine has created a science of its own: Oenology.

Despite the fact that honey was probably the first source of sugar to create a type of inebriating drink, mead, it doesn’t have the status of wine.

Is it only the ancient desire of mankind to inebriate itself that has given wine its history? Is it the adaptation of Vitis vinifera to an industrial cultivation what has permitted the existence of modern oenology? Is the status of wine today related to the creation of the Western civilizations by Mediterranean inhabitants? Do we owe oenology to religion? Jesuschrist!!

Is wine making today an art, a technique, or is it a science?

What is important for me, is that oenology and viticulture exist, and that today, they present formal knowledge that has been created by society to study, promote, and perfect this beverage.

Honey and, in general, the products of the beehive, haven`t had this luck, even though there are a lot of parallels that one can make between honey and wine.

Both come from a European or Mediterranean source. Wine from Vitis vinifera and honey from the European honey bee Apis Mellifera.. Wine and honey can be made from other sources: rice wine, fruits wine, etc; honey from Meliponias sp., Bombus sp., other Apis sp., and Trigona sp.

In oenology terms, one can talk about a varietal as opposed to a blended wine. In honeylogy terms, one can also talk about varietal (monofloral) as opposed to a blended (polyfloral) honey. One can also make the distinction of terrain and vintage to refer to honey, just as is done with wine. On both - wine and honey - sensory examination and evaluation can be made.

To its benefit, wine, with less ORAC value than honey, pollen or propolis, has the French Paradox behind it. Honey, despite its highly acclaimed medicinal advantages is not supported by any such paradox.

In the wine industry you can become an Oenologist or a Sommelier, in the honey industry you are always a Beekeeper or Apiarist, why not a Honeylogist or Honeymelier or Mielmelier?

If a Google search is done for viticulture, 4,420,000 links are provided. Beekeeping gets 1,550,000 and apiculture gets 1,120,000. However, wine gets 255,000,000 links, “Vino” gets 56,400,000, whilst Mead scores 11,800,000. For honey its 102,000,000 and “Miel” 15,300,000 links.

If one searches for honeylogy, score zero links. This is an oportunity when compared to 700,000 for oenology.  Keep the secret!.

I want to study a PhD at Davis for 2 reasons.

Firstly, as a means to have the time and guidance to develop Honeylogy, a structured approach to add value through knowledge to the beehive sub-products. Secondly, and especially, to add that value and knowledge to the honey and propolis products from southern Chile.

At UC Davis I expect to have plenty of time dedicated to develop Honeylogy. I expect to be surrounded by intelligent and dedicated people prepared to guide me on my search for knowledge. I will have access to state of the art labs for doing the necessary analysis of the beehive products.  If not at the .....  (fill in the blank) ..... Oenology Faculty ....  somewhere in the campus I will find the right person to talk to. UC Davis has a famous beekeeping tradition with the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility centred within an excellent Entomology department. As well as one of the world’s best Beekeeping Extensionists (Eric C. Mussen), and a world renowned bee geneticist (Susan Cobey), there are experts in international trade, social marketing, and business technology, to name but a few parallel skills.

Finally, California geographycaly is quite similar to Chile, and UC Davis is roughly at the same latitude as Temuco (where I live), therefore all the non formal knowledge about the landscape and beekeeping will be useful on my return. I already have contacts and close friendship with one prominent Californian beekeeper, Randy Oliver, which is a great start.