Brussels, 25/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 24 March 2014, the Slovenian delegation informed the European Council of a national initiative to promote honey for breakfast in schools. Slovenian honey was even given out to the agriculture ministers of the EU.
Slovenia would like this initiative to be extended at EU level. It received the backing of several countries: France, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Bulgaria and Germany. For the last seven years, Slovenian beekeepers have organised an education and promotion campaign on the third Friday of November called “Honey breakfast”. Children of nursery and primary school age are given honey produced in Slovenia for their breakfast. This campaign aims to improve eating habits by targeting very young children and to highlight the importance of preserving the environment for bees. In November 2014, this national initiative will be presented to the third international conference on beekeeping, to be held in Slovenia. The Commission pointed out that honey could be included in future programmes for the distribution of agricultural products in schools. (LC)