Honey is extracted by harvesting a beehive, unlike meat, dairy, or eggs, all of which are extracted through direct (mostly cruel) contact with an animal.
It’s a small wonder why the question ‘Is Honey Vegan?’ pops up so often, considering that honey isn’t extracted from the bees themselves. And yet, why does this question surface so frequently, and what stance can we take on the consumption of honey?
Is Honey Vegan?
Veganism implies the avoidance of any product that involves harming or exploiting an animal.
In the case of honey, bees are bred to build a hive for themselves and their queen. The honey they use to build this hive is stolen by us after exploiting the bees for their labor.
So the answer to ‘is honey vegan?’ would be a resounding NO, simply on the grounds that an animal (in this case a swarm of bees) is exploited for a product.
However, exploitation of labor is just a small part of why honey isn’t vegan.
Nutritional Deprivation
Honey is essential to the growth and development of bees in a colony. Without it, it’s difficult, if not impossible, for the bees to survive and thrive.
In the honey industry, beekeepers extract honey and replace it with a sugary syrup to fool the bees. While this syrup keeps the bees fed, it offers poor nutrition, leaving many of the bees malnourished and prone to diseases. As a result many of the colony’s workers die out shortly after the extraction process.
Wing Clipping
‘Swarming’ is a natural process which refers to the division of a hive, and it occurs when the colony gets overcrowded and a new queen is born. To prevent a part of the hive from leaving, beekeepers clip the wings of the new queen (which is a painful process) ensuring that the entire hive stays intact. This means reduced nutrition for the entire colony, leading to an increase in mortality.
Artificial Insemination
Just like the dairy industry, queen bees are artificially inseminated by drones in order to produce more eggs. Aside from the obvious exploitation, this results in overpopulation and crowding, which leads to a deterioration in the health of the colony.
Fight To The Death
Bees were naturally created to make honey and defend their hives from those who try to steal it.
During the harvest, bees will try and defend the hive from the beekeepers by stinging their protective suits. And a bee’s sting is fatal to the bee; it loses its life in the attempt to protect the colony. So even in the most organic honey farms out there, the extraction process always results in the death of a few bees, giving us a clear answer to the question ‘is honey vegan?’.
Decline In Bee Population
Aside from the ill effects on any particular hive, the bee industry has led to inbreeding and a decline in the overall health of bee colonies all over the world. This inbreeding makes the newer generation of bees weaker and more susceptible to diseases and natural calamities. As such, bee populations are slowly dying out.
So apart from exploitation, harvesting honey is an unsustainable practice and must be understood from an environmental perspective when considering the question ‘is honey vegan?’. Ingredients like agave, maple syrup, and other honey substitutes exist today that can be used to replace honey in recipes. It’s vitally important that we stop consuming honey and give the bees a fighting chance to regain their rightful place in the world, as nurturers of our entire ecosystem.
Thank you so much for addressing this, I had no idea! I’m a new vegetarian that is slowly transitioning into veganism. I discovered your blog through HappyCow! Thank you again!