Join us for our in-person monthly meeting! Our speaker will be Jennie Durant, author of Bitter Honey: Big Ag’s threat to bees and the fight to save them.

In Bitter Honey, 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. You can buy it at Amazon and other booksellers.

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 USDA and the University of California in Berkeley and Davis. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, LitHub, Live Science, Grist, The Huffington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, and The Conversation. (She’s also a member of the ACBA!)

Schedule:

• 7:00–7:30: Social time; new beekeeper round table (bring your questions, no matter how basic they seem!)
• 7:30–8:00: Club business, announcements, etc.
• 8:00–9:00: Speaker Jennie Durant