Apiaries must be ecologically and economically sustainable to provide pollination as a unique ecosystem service. Pollination as an ecosystem service is economically, socially, and environmentally irreplaceable. Therefore, it is essential to improve the profitability of beekeeping activities, which are mainly carried out in rural areas. With this in mind, the main objective of this article is to assess pollination as one of the ecosystem services provided by bees, based on the specificities of Hungarian honey production. The authors’ analysis is based on a Hungarian apiary with 300 colonies active in migratory beekeeping. The model farm produces a wide variety of honey thanks to its migratory beekeeping, visiting several bee pastures during the beekeeping season. This paper presents an approach to quantify the ecosystem services provided by honey bees (Apis mellifera) using two economic valuation methods (productivity change and surrogate market goods) belonging to the family of cost-based valuation. The results of the monetary valuation of the ecosystem services provided by bees can provide a starting point for further research to help decision-makers and farmers to calculate a fair “pollination fee” for beekeepers, which will significantly help beekeepers to maintain beekeeping, an important and beneficial activity for all of us.

Nowadays, the use of plastic is very widespread, especially in packaging materials. Most packaging materials are made from fossil-based polymers, which contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. The unprecedented leakage of single-use plastic waste into the environment is a major problem, with negative impacts on both ecosystems and human health. In this study we examine the development of packaging waste and recycled packaging in the European Union over a period of more than 20 years, highlighting changes in the regulatory context; assess the achievements of Hungary so far and forecast the expected developing of packaging volumes and recycling rates; and consider recycling and waste reduction options, including alternative sustainable packaging options. Our forecast based on the evidence shows that Hungary (47.62%), Germany (61.46%), Malta (26.27%), Romania (58.64%) and Croatia (49.41%) are not expected to reach the target set (65% by 2025) in EU legislation. Out of the 27 countries surveyed, 6 (Belgium 88.2%, the Netherlands 87.81%, Luxembourg 76.96%, the Czech Republic 77.79%, Finland 78.75% and Denmark 83.7%) exceeded the expectations, so we show their waste management and waste recycling good practice, as they can serve as good examples for Hungary and other countries.

Environmental awareness and health awareness, as part of a sustainable conscious food consumer philosophy, differ in form and extent among societies and countries. The main purpose of this paper was to identify the relationship between the target group’s (university students) self-perceived and actual health and environmental awareness, based on their actual consumer behaviour. A questionnaire survey (n = 500) was conducted among the students of the University of Debrecen (UD), Hungary. Several multivariate statistical techniques were applied for the data analysis: principal component analysis, cross-tabulation analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, multivariate data reduction techniques and cluster analysis. Following four factors were identified: Organic Food Preference, Price Consciousness, Quality Aspects, Food Information. As a result of the cluster analysis four clusters were formed (“Price-oriented Food Consumers”, “Fashionable Organic Food Consumers”, “Habitual Food Consumers”, “Conscious Food Consumers”). Only the fourth cluster members can be characterised by health and environmental awareness, most of them study health and economics. The obtained findings led to the conclusion that health and environmentally conscious food consumption is at a fairly low level among UD students, i.e. improvement is definitely desirable and higher education can play a significant role in this field.

Consumers have several options when confronted with less environmentally friendly packaging like water in single use plastic bottles - they can ignore environmental concerns and proceed with a purchase, refuse to buy any such product, seek out a less damaging version like water in biodegradable bottles, and/or engage in offsetting/compensatory behavior such as donating to a charity. Understanding how consumers value these options is an important academic and management challenge. To address this, a stated choice experiment is employed. It considers the preferences of a representative sample of UK consumers for bottled water with the attributes: packaging (PET versus biodegradable), charity donation (environment/social/none), origin (domestic/foreign), and price. Data were analyzed using random parameter logit modeling, incorporating a latent variable into the model, which captured environmentally conscious behavior. Based on the model estimations, domestic origin, biodegradable packaging, and charity donations (both for environmental and social causes) positively affect decision-makers' perceived utility. In keeping with moral consistency theory, as consumers' level of nature relatedness and green consumption values increase, biodegradable packaging becomes more preferable than non-biodegradable packaging, and the likelihood of refusing to purchase any bottled water option, rises, respectively. In contrast, high levels of materialist values are associated with lower environmental consciousness. The paper provides evidence to managers regarding consumers' valuation of more environmentally friendly packaging, and strategies to increase uptake.

In Hungary, beekeeping is a relatively small-scale sector within the livestock sector, but it is essential for maintaining biodiversity and rural employment. In order to provide ecosystem services such as pollination by honey bees, apiaries need to be economically sustainable, and it is therefore of strategic importance that beekeepers can continue their activities. Based on this, this article’s main objective is the economic analysis of Hungarian honey production, which enables the evaluation of the cost–benefit relationships, production volume and the efficiency of the operation. The authors’ analysis is based on a Hungarian apiary with 300 bee colonies, which also engages in migration and produces a significant amount of acacia honey. The model farm produces several types of honey due to migratory beekeeping, and its average yield reaches 60 kg/bee colony/year, which the authors calculated based on the average purchase prices in 2021. Based on the farm model, the analysis showed that 71 bee colonies and 4253 kg of honey production reached the profitability threshold.

This study examined the conditions and factors affecting honey production in Hungary from the perspective of Hungarian beekeepers. Due to the scarcity of research on Hungary, this study can be considered a missing piece. The survey was based on a questionnaire survey (N = 632). Basic statistical tools (frequencies, means) were used to describe the data. To assess differences between some categorical variables, cross-stability was assessed using chi-square tests, and non-parametric tests were used. Based on the study results, the study population has an average of 101 colonies per beekeeper. Beekeepers with a low number of colonies are mainly hobby beekeepers for whom non-economic goals are a priority. The average honey yield is 40 kg per bee colony, with a wide variation between counties. The primary function of beekeeping is production and selling, followed by the importance of pollinating crops and other plants, maintaining natural landscapes and habitats, and conserving plant biodiversity. Around 80% of beekeepers keep bees primarily for income, which is consistent with production and selling as their primary activity. The main problems identified are bee mite infestation (Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman), bee poisoning from pesticides, Nosema (Nosema apis Zander; Nosema ceranae Huang) infection, problems with sales and profitability, and lack of bee pastures.