Yes, but for any new land made arable you also have to factor in the formerly arable lands lost to desertification. Even if you have a net gain in arable land just looking at things in terms of temperature, you also have to factor in soil productivity. It takes thousands of years to build fertile soils. You aren’t…

Yep. And ruminants like cows are not at all adapted to eating starchy food like corn, which means they produce massive amounts of methane when eating it. Corn fed beef is also much worse for your health compared to grass-fed.

This would work if the externalities (in the form of environmental damage, increased water consumption, corn subsidies, etc.) from meat production were actually priced into the product, giving people a disincentive to over consume meat.

You’re mixing up hay and straw here.

Hay is actually a mix of clover, alfalfa, and grass. The first two provide nectar and pollen to a variety of pollinators, and are nitrogen-fixing plants, which means they improve soil quality.

The reasons I have mostly been vegetarian/vegan for the last 15 years, in order of priority to me:

I get that, but to achieve the medicinal benefits the article talks about, you do need to start with a good product. It actually says that the high moisture honey (>18.5% water) will have maximum benefits. Beekeepers can not sell this honey at full price because it WILL spoil on the shelf.

The biggest problem (assuming the move was done well, which means overnight loading and temps that don’t get too high) is that about 10% of your hives will lose thier queens. This number is based on beekeeper reports after moving thier hives from Ontario to the east coast (24 hour drive one way).

Rhododendron honey is what you're thinking of. Produced in parts of Turkey and South Asia

Honey has four modes of action against microorganisms:

The stuff you buy in the store is largely low-grade and potentially adulterated Chinese or Argentinian honey. What you get from a beekeeper is pure unadulterated local honey.

If current trends continue we will actually be facing a shortage of bees for pollination services much sooner than that. Many of the beekeepers in the prime fruit and vegetable production areas of my province of Ontario have simply stopped renting thier hives.

Moving hives for pollination can be very stressful for the bees, but when done by a skilled beekeeper, it should not be detrimental to the colony over the long term.

It used to be standard practice to have hedgerows of bee friendly plants and trees. They would serve as a windbreak and refuge for wildlife.

Pesticide overuse, specifically the blanket application of SYSTEMIC insecticides like the neonicotinoids, is the primary challenge facing honey bees today.