Honey is not only a sweetening agent, but its beneficial properties are many and its production by bees is integral to the effective regeneration and necessary variation of food crops. While the specific flower nectar gathered by bees contributes to distinctive flavors, raw honey from all flowers has many beneficial properties including antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-tumor. Growing concern over the fatal effect of pesticides on bee health and survival as a species is alerting many to the potential grave difficulties to be faced by all species should bee populations continue to decrease at present rates around the world. Fittingly, honey often figures metaphorically in literature as a staple of life.
