SUSTAINABILITY
IT ALL STARTS HERE, WITH THE BEES.
Over the last few years, the Consorzio della Finocchiona IGP has started to follow a path that is inextricably linked to the territory, with the aim of raising awareness of environmental sustainability.
In 2021, we launched “Sentinel Bees,” our initiative to support the preservation of biodiversity in our territory by purchasing and installing pollinating bee hives in the Tuscan countryside.
This is a commitment to a path of environmental sustainability that places the bee, the queen of biodiversity and the natural barometer of the state of our territories, at the centre.
Due to pollution and the use of pesticides, the number of bees in the area has declined drastically in the last few years, causing significant disruption to the entire ecosystem and the local agricultural sector. On average, there are around 70,000 honey bees in a hive, and each bee visits an average of 700 flowers per day, so a swarm of 20,000 bees visits 14 million flowers per day and must travel around 150,000 kilometres to produce 1kg of honey. The foraging radius of a bee is about 3 km, but it finds “food” closer by staying in the area.
Bees, “guardians of the ecosystem”, in addition to their tireless work of pollination and honey production, are naturally attracted to the intense yellow of wild fennel, one of the colours that make the Tuscan panorama unique and instantly recognisable. Thanks to the hives installed by the Consortium, beekeepers can check the health of their territory and have the presence of pesticides and chemical substances analysed in the pollen and the materials deposited by the bees in the hives.
Bees fly, and thanks to their work, the territory is “guarded” by these small and tireless friends of agriculture. They enjoy good health and produce a product – in this case, wild fennel – of absolute quality, which complements and enriches Finocchiona PGI, giving it its unmistakable aroma and intense flavour.
Also, in 2022, the Consortium for the Protection of Finocchiona PGI continued its action to promote bees by donating three more hives to a Tuscan company that produces wild fennel, an irreplaceable element for Finocchiona PGI. Thanks to this collaboration, the hives have been placed on the land of a company that supplies wild fennel to produce Finocchiona PGI.
The Consortium for the PGI Finocchiona wanted to contribute to the creation of an eco-sustainable and integrated environmental development, essential for the respect and recovery of typical regional production and for the safeguarding and valorisation of traditions and the heart of Tuscany. One of the objectives of the awareness-raising programme is the protection of bees and biodiversity.
In the coming months, the Consortium will be planning further strategic actions to ensure the sustainability of PGI Finocchiona.
