Netflix does a really efficient job of reminding us every time they have something new to watch. Most often, these tips not only don’t interest me, but they annoy me. This time was different. The Netflix Original series Rotten about the corruption in our food system is a good one.

If the first episode is any indication, I am going to dig this series. Episode 1 deals with the honey market. It is fascinating look at what is a seriously large and seriously broken market. They recommend that some dealers/distributors/packers of honey deal with something illegal in the honey trade 85-90% of all their transaction.

Whether they are shipping illegal honey repackaged to look like it comes from legal sources or cutting the pure honey with syrups and fillers, the honey we eat is mostly not honey. The influx of adulterated honey (including those containing illegal additives and/or antibiotics) is the result of greed. In chasing the dollars, people are cutting corners and ripping off the public. Honey laundering is a big and dirty business. My takeaway: buy your honey locally sourced.

This series may take me some time to consume (pun intended) but I look forward to it. If you eat food, you should watch this series.

by Chris Doelle

Also published on Medium.