Is Honey Vegan?

By: Megan

    There has been a debate for years on if honey is vegan or not. The answer is not as simple as it should be: it all depends on personal opinion. By the definition, veganism is a way of life that excludes all animal abuse, exploitation, and cruelty as much as humanly possible and practical. The real question that lies is if bees are abused or exploited in the honey industry or not. 

    Honey is made from nectar. Bees collect this nectar and store it in their stomach. They then return to their hive and the bees kind of play hot potato with the nectar and share it all until it turns into a thicker substance. Then they just kind of leave it in the comb. The process sounds disgusting to me, but that is not even the worst of it.

    The ethical side of honey all depends on the beekeeper themselves. Commercial beekeepers tend to be harsher than a small business would be because commercially they are in it for the money. Honeybees will typically eat their own honey. It has lots of nutritional value and is good for the bee's wellbeing. However, in honey making the honey cannot be eaten by the bees. In order to prevent this, beekeepers will feed the bees sugar water which has no nutritional value for them. This can be detrimental to their health. To add, a lot of bees will be killed in the honey harvesting process if it is not done carefully. 

    The decision is really up to each person. Some will eat local honey from small businesses, while others refuse to eat honey altogether. Where I am in my vegan journey, I chose not to eat honey and will continue to do so because I see honey the same way that I see in drinking milk. They are both taking from an animal which is animal exploitation.