“An ambitious, important, and utterly captivating book.”–Mary Roach, New York Times bestselling author of Replaceable You and Stiff
A revealing investigation into how industrial farming poses a growing threat to America’s bees
Each February, a vast yet largely invisible migration takes place across the United States. Semi-trucks stacked high with honey bee colonies head to California’s Central Valley, carrying nearly 99 percent of the nation’s domesticated bees. There, the bees pollinate millions of acres of blooming almond orchards before fanning out across the country for apples, berries, and other crops. This massive undertaking sustains both beekeepers and farmers–but it comes at a heavy price.
In Bitter Honey, Jennie Durant takes readers behind the scenes to reveal the human and ecological cost of industrial farming for bees, beekeepers, and all of us who depend on them. Bees today face a gauntlet of threats: parasites and disease, pesticide exposure, and climate extremes–all magnified by Big Ag. Beekeepers, meanwhile, endure grueling practices just to survive, often losing half their hives each year.
But this isn’t a story of defeat. Durant introduces us to the beekeepers, farmers, and activists pioneering new ways to support both wild and managed bees. The stakes are high: nearly three-quarters of our major food crops depend on bees and other pollinators. Bitter Honey exposes the crisis threatening the nation’s bees and spotlights the advocates working to protect them for generations to come.
Jennie Durant is a writer and researcher focused on bees, agriculture, and the environment. She has spent more than a decade working with beekeepers, scientists, and policymakers, including time at the US Department of Agriculture and University of California, at both Davis and Berkeley. Her writing has appeared in Grist, Glamour, HuffPo, and the San Francisco Chronicle. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family.
Durant will be in conversation with Nancy Lawson, the author of The Humane Gardener: Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife and Wildscape: Trilling Chipmunks, Beckoning Blooms, Salty Butterflies, and other Sensory Wonders of Nature. A nature writer, habitat consultant, and founder of The Humane Gardener, she pioneers creative wildlife-friendly landscaping methods. Nancy co-chairs Howard County Bee City in Maryland and co-launched a community science project, Monarch Rx, after observing a little-known butterfly behavior in her own garden. Her habitat, books, and scientific endeavors have been featured in Science Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Oprah magazine, Entomology Today, and Ecological Entomology. Nancy is a columnist for American Gardener and an honorary director for Wild Ones. Her most recent book, Wildscape, received an honorable mention from the American Horticultural Society and was a 2024 finalist for an American Association for the Advancement of Science writing award.