Beekeeping will be included because bees are an indicator species for the health of the environment nearest us. They thrive or die based upon how healthy the area you live in is for you.
The reasons for eating your home grown food or food grown in a nearby farm whose owner you have met are obvious from this recent article about salmonella poisonings being impossible to trace to their origins:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25851415/
and from this article from the USEPA stating that in 1998 over 50% of food had pesticide residues:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/food_contam.htm
and this article shows why you want to know and buy from a local grower:
http://www.consumersunion.org/food/organicsumm.htm
In the latter it states: "Some foods sold as organic may also be mislabeled, either because of fraud or because of lapses in maintaining the identity of foods as they move from the farm to the consumer." I would add, that when buying at a farmer's market all the middle men are removed.
Growing your own or buying local eliminates all of the above potential problems or makes them immediately accessible for analysis and quick correction, if there is a problem.
