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Facts on why vegans don't consume honey?
I don't consume honey and that is entirely because vegans don't consume honey....However, I would like to know the reasons why I don't consume honey (other than it is bee vomit or that "vegans don't eat animal products") in case someone asks me...
Although I can hold a valid argument against meat, dairy, and eggs -- I don't think know much about bees. I read somewhere online that local beekeepers should be supported because they help to increase the dwindling bee population. But that can be similar to saying that chickens, pigs and cows would become extinct if we stopped eating them...
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Lauren Woods on -
Well, I've never particularly liked honey, so I didn't really have to give it up. But I've heard vegans say that in the process, a lot of bees are killed, and some people view it as theft- as in, the bees are kept like prisoners, they work hard, then have their honey stolen.
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Permalink Reply by Joseph Dietrich on -
I think that it's more based on principle than anything else. Extending the idea that animals aren't a means to our end, to insects. Honestly, the reason I don't eat honey is because I consider it to be a matter of principle. Well, that and it's not considered vegan and I don't want to get hated on by other vegans. Plus, I never really liked honey, so it's not like giving it up made much of a difference to me.
Although I'm not entirely sure, but I have heard some vegans say that many bees are squished and gassed in the process of extracting the honey. Plus, I'm fairly sure that the majority of honey comes from industry, and not local beekeepers. So, while it may or may not be true that small independent beekeepers help bees, I think it's safe to say that industry helps only themselves and doesn't care about the bees or the environment.
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Permalink Reply by dashiel feodorov-ikonovich on -
its the most obvious invertebrate-based product to boycott as a vegan. read jain philosophy. jains wont even eat certain plants that kill the entire structure of it. theres caring about your world and all forms of life, and theres extremes.
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Permalink Reply by Danii Chong on -
I found this online. Hope it helps.
Bees undergo treatments similar to farmed animals which endure cruelties of the animal farming industry. They go through routine examination and handling, artificial feeding regimes, drug and pesticide treatment, genetic manipulation, artificial insemination, transportation (by air, rail and road) and slaughter.
- Bees Killed -
When beekeepers manipulate combs many bees are crushed and killed. Hives have smoke puffed into them to calm bees down and make them easier to handle. Special excluders or devices that violate the bees' space are attached to hives to collect bee products from bees as they enter hives. Bees are separated from their hives by being shaken vigorously or jetted out with powerful streams of air. They may have their legs and wings clipped off. Clipping the wings of queen bees prevents them from swarming (flying off!).
Many believe that bees are not harmed in any way when they are used for making honey. This, could not be further from the truth. In the North, it is not profitable to keep bees throughout the winter, thus they are killed. One way that this is done is by dousing the hive with petroleum, then burning it. Other times they are simply left to starve to death, after the honey is taken. Hives are burned when there is a disease outbreak. In addition, some bees are killed because they eat honey but do not do enough work. This is usually done at the larval stage.
Swarming is the natural way for reproduction, increase and survival of the species, at least in the wild. However, beekeepers are constantly trying to prevent this natural phenomenon and will use artificial pheromones, wing clipping and cage queens to keep their colony under control.
- Bees Slavery -
Like cows and chickens, bees are used as biomachines to make a product for human consumption. Like all forms of slavery in the modern world, they are seen only for their use-value, or how they serve to benefit their "owner." They can only gather a tiny amount of pollen in each trip, 75,000 miles of travel to gather enough pollen to produce just one pound of honey. They do all of this work to create food for their own consumption alone; not for that of human beings. If bees were human, this abusive treatment would be considered, by all, to be slavery.
- Honey Stolen -
A bee may be an insect, but nonetheless it is a living, breathing creature. The act of taking away food produced for any species or their young, (regardless of whether or not they can possibly survive with less), is plain and simply greedy, lust for excess. Additionally, bees are quick to defend their hive if it is disturbed; just one more indicator that they do not willingly "give" us their honey. In order for a human to eat honey, first it must be stolen.
In order for bees to survive when the honey is stolen, a white sugar syrup is given to them. This substitute is not at all nutritionally adequate replacement for the bee's necessary diet. This malnutrition leaves them exposed to disease. Because of this, antibiotics like Tetracycline, Terramycin and Sodium Sulfathiosole are mixed in with the sugar substitute.
- We dont have to... -
Not eating honey is as simple as using the following alternatives, (there are also many others); brown rice syrup, (great for substituting in recipes, though less sweet than honey), barley malt, sorghum, (similar in taste to molasses), black strap molasses, fruits and fruit juices, dates and Sucanat, (granulated cane sugar). All of these substitutes are available in any decent health food store.
- Bees suffering -
Queen
Queen bees are artificially inseminated with sperm obtained from decapitated bees. Queens are systematically slaughtered every two years because over time their egg producing abilities decline so their whole hive becomes unproductive and uneconomic. In Israel they are killed and re-queened every year.
Artificial Feed
Beekeepers feed artificial pollen substitutes and white sugar syrup to colonies, often to replace the honey that has been removed. If these practices are carried out over long periods of time they lower hive productivity and lifespan. Colonies fed on their natural food - honey and pollen - result in larger emerging bees and more vigorous bees.
Pesticides
Beekeepers have become dependent on the use of synthetic pesticides and antibiotics to combat pests, and this has led to problems of toxicological hazards to beekeepers and bees, and risks of honey contamination.
Bees Transported
Bees are bought and sold worldwide. Transportation means bees may suffer stress, suffocation, overheating or cold. Many die entombed in their packaged coffins. Exotic bees are transported to strange countries and causing problems in the natural environment by spreading disease. They are subsequently treated as feral and nests are destroyed by pouring petrol in hives or bees killed by spraying with liquid soap.
Moneymaking
In a bid to improve the economics of honey production in South America in the 1950s the government ordered research into the use of the African honeybee. These bees are the most prolific honey producers in the world. Unfortunately, they are also extremely aggressive. All the native bees of South America were stingless but only three species made honey and certainly not in large quantities. Unfortunately, the African honeybees escaped. Thousands of hives of Africanised bees are now destroyed each year in the USA because they have been breeding with and destroying the more docile European honeybees, and they have stung and killed over 600 people.
Pollination
In many countries bees' services are bought for pollination purposes resulting in the bees (and their hives) being transported hundreds or thousands of miles. The food industry is now looking to artificially managed honeybees to provide to pollinate crops because wild bees and other insects (who would naturally pollinate crops) have been and are being destroyed by housing development, industrial pollution, pesticide poisoning, intensive farming practices, destruction of hedgerows, etc. The use of honeybees for pollination is now big business especially in places like New Zealand and America. However, even in the UK commercial beekeepers move hives (to find sources of nectar for honey production, and for pollination). Pollination fees are a very important component of the commercial beekeepers income. Commercially reared bumblebee colonies are now also extensively used to pollinate some glasshouse crops, particularly tomatoes.
- Bee Products -
Honey
Pre-digested food made by bees from nectar. The bees collect the nectar from flowers and store it in their primary or honey stomach. Here it is partially digested and converted into the substance we call honey. It is a food source of the bee and is stored in the hive for the lean winter months. The metabolism of honey by the bee creates heat, which maintains the temperature of the hive at 17-34 degrees C. The colony requires approximately 200 lbs of honey a year to survive. It is used by humans as a food, as a medicine and in cosmetics and toiletries.
Beeswax
Secreted from eight small wax glands underneath the abdomen of the bee. The soft wax pours into eight pockets beneath the glands where it solidifies. It is then removed and passed to the mouth where it is worked into hexagonal cells called combs, which are used to form the basic structure of the hive. It is used in cosmetics, toiletries, pharmaceuticals, polishes and candles.
Propolis
A resinous substance gathered by bees from trees. It is used to fill holes, and varnish and strengthen the hive. Bees also use it as a natural antibiotic, antiviral and antifungal agent. It is gathered by humans by either scraping it off the hive or collecting it on specially made frames. It is used as a medicine and food supplement. It is sometimes called 'bee glue'.
Bee Pollen
Collected from flowers and brought back to the hive as a load on the hind legs. It is a food source for the bee and is stored in the hive. A colony requires approximately 60lbs of pollen per year to survive. The collection of pollen involves fitting special traps to the hive. These scrape it off and are just big enough to allow the bee through. Bee pollen is used as a food supplement.
Royal Jelly
This creamy-white sticky fluid is a blend of two secretions from the glands of the worker bees. It is the sole source of nourishment for the queen bee throughout her life. Since royal jelly enables the bee to become a queen, some people believe they can recapture their lost youth by eating it. China, where cost-saving techniques have been devised for gathering it, is a major exporter of royal jelly. Details of methods of collection are a closely guarded secret. It is sometimes called 'bee milk'.
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Permalink Reply by Danii Chong on
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Venom
The sting of the bee. Its collection involves the stretching of an electrically-charged membrane in front of the hive. When the bees fly into it they receive an electric shock and sting the membrane, thus depositing the venom. Venom is prized by some for its supposed medicinal qualities.
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Permalink Reply by Stanislav Wchowsky on -
the extinxtion of chickens, pigs and cows wouldn't do harm to our ecosystem. the extinction of bees does harm to our encosystem for they are the main pollinators on this planet. if they would get extinct, there wouldn't be enough vegan food anymore, so a completely vegan lifestyle without honey would, if everyone did it, basically destroy itself. so in this case, sticking to much to their principles simply for beeing "pure" basically will make them unable to live their philosophy. if you buy honey from small, local beekepers, you do no harm to bees, but enable them to survive and in addition you do good to our flora and agriculture.
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Permalink Reply by Lauren Woods on
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There's a documentary on this place in China where bees are extinct, and the hardships of the people there. I forgot what it was I saw it so many years ago- there was this one group of farmers who literally go around pollinating all of the fruit trees... we're all in trouble as the bees begin to decline. :(
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Permalink Reply by Wayne Bond on -
That is very very interesting. I'm just beginning my journey to find out about Veganism so this stuff is fascinating to me!
Personally I am not a fan of honey at all but I don't feel I should give it up just because other vegans don't accept it, I'm not looking to be accepted by other vegans, I'm much more interested in living life as compassionately as I can without causing harm to myself in the process. Social acceptance doesn't come into it.
@Lauren, if you remember the name of the documentary please let me know, I've had a look but nothing has come up.
Interesting...
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Permalink Reply by Lauren Woods on
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Will do :)!
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