For nearly 8,000 years, humans have enjoyed honey as a natural sweetener and remedy with various health benefits. With the rise of veganism, the question of whether honey is vegan has become more nuanced. Here, we delve into the process of honey production and its impact on bees to determine if it qualifies as a vegan food.
Experts In This Article
- Nissa Coit, former honey bee researcher, Learning Network associate and adjunct lecturer at Sterling College
What is honey and how is it made?
Former honey bee researcher Nissa Coit explains that honey bees collect nectar from flowers, store it in their crop, and then modify it with enzymes in their saliva. This nectar is then spread on the walls of wax cells in the hive and fanned to evaporate the water, resulting in honey.
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It’s important to note that consuming beeswax is not vegan, as the wax cells are produced by the bees’ bodies. One pound of honey requires nectar from two million flowers, and healthy bee colonies produce more honey than they need.
Is honey vegan and is it considered an animal product?
While bees do not produce honey from their bodies, they do labor to produce it, and their bodies modify it. Consuming honey is essentially taking a bit of their labor rather than a product produced by their actual bodies. However, bees are almost always harmed in the harvesting of honey, which does not align with the principles of veganism. Therefore, honey is not considered vegan.
The ethical implication of honey production and how it impacts bees
Inspecting the hive, administering medicine, or harvesting honey can result in the death of bees. Industrial beekeeping contributes to deforestation, harmful pesticides, and bee disease, causing major losses for bee colonies. Organizations like PETA advise avoiding honey due to the manipulation and exploitation of bees and their unnatural living conditions.
Why we need bees
Bees play a crucial role in pollinating the global food supply and maintaining ecosystem health. Their decline due to extinction and vulnerability threatens global ecological diversity and food supply sustainability.
Exploring honey substitutes
For those concerned about animal welfare or looking for alternatives, there are plenty of honey substitutes available, such as Blenditup’s Organic Vegan Honey made from apples and Plant Based Artisan’s Original Vegan Honea.
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