Natural American Foods, a leading processor of honey in the United States, partnered with the University of California Davis Honey and Pollination Center to sponsor the inaugural Bee Symposium: Keeping Bees Healthy, held recently.

The daylong event brought together beekeepers, scientists, students and honey industry professionals to discuss important issues in bee health and explore best management practices to help sustain the bee population for the future.

Joyce Schlachter, VP of Technical Services for Natural American Foods, was one of more than 350 attendees at the Bee Symposium and said the event "was a terrific opportunity to hear the latest scientific research on bee health and to network with some of the brightest minds in the industry."

"Our Queen Bee level sponsorship of the Bee Symposium was just a small token of our support for the tremendous work being accomplished by the UC Davis," said Rolf Richter, CEO of Natural American Foods.  "The health and vitality of the honeybee population has dramatic implications not only for our business, but for the planet overall.  Part of our corporate sustainability efforts involve working with other like-minded organizations to find solutions to the declines that are seen in the honey bee populations, and to improve education about the significant role that pollinators play in our everyday lives.