the year round demand thread got me thinking about the other side of it. if the west suddenly wants endless mad honey, and sellers promise endless supply, somethings got to give. apis laboriosa colonies are already under pressure and overharvesting the same cliffs hits the bees and next seasons honey both. are we just hyping this into the ground
this is part of why the intensity-chasing bothers me. treated as a wellness ritual, people use a little occasionally. sold as an extreme thrill, the demand balloons and the cliffs pay for it
traditionally the hunts are limited, twice a year, and the communities know not to strip a cliff bare because they need it again. the danger is outside buyers pushing for more than the cliff can give, and using money to undercut that restraint. sustainable here means respecting the rhythm the hunters already keep, not inventing a third harvest to fill a spreadsheet
realistically demand isnt going away, so the lever is buying from sources tied to the communities that have to live with those cliffs next year. they have the strongest reason not to wreck it. a random reseller chasing volume has none
@Tom fair, thats more useful than just feeling guilty about it. buy less, buy traceable, from people with skin in the next harvest. ill take that