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#and I just don’t feel entitled to someone else’s life’s work.
That comment exactly!! It’s not mine and I can survive without it, so I will.
This is why honey is not vegan.
The problem here is that honey, especially if you buy it ethically from an apiarist, isn’t actually detrimental to the well-being of the bee or the hive. In the wild, honey is used as a food stock, but in a domesticated honeybee colony, the bees are fed quite well, and so the honey is a surplus.
The alternatives, like sugar, relies on monocrops in third world countries, with transient labour. Growing up, there was a sugarcane field by my house, and I’m sure the Haitian men who worked backbreaking hours hacking a machete through knife-bladed leaves in 40 degree heat for a couple dollars a day would have traded a testicle to be a Canadian honeybee. Stevia’s going the same way, iirc.
Additionally, apiarists are actually huge proponents and activists for sustainable bee-keeping, and it’s estimated that the domesticated hive may be the last great hope for declining populations, because we can optimize their chances for survival.
It’s their life’s work, sure, but it’s not the death of them to use it responsibly.
literally read anything about the history of sugarcane and the cuban sugar industry if you think sugar is or ever has been more ethical than honey
Beekeepers-
Provide a home for the bees
Keep that home warm in the winter
Keep the bees well fed, negating the need for honey, which the bees would make anyways
Still do not take all the honey, just in case
Protect the bees from predators
Monitor the hives for any signs of the parasites, diseases, etc. that cause colony collapse disorder
Their bees-
Provide a valuable and reliable source of pollination for plants in the area, both wild and crops
Help keep the local ecosystem healthy
Honey-
Is one of the healthiest things you can eat
Is able to keep for a EXTREMELY long time (Millennia even), making it more valuable than many perishable foods without being full of preservatives
Can be used to soothe sore throats, nauseau, etc.
Has been eaten by humans since at least Ancient Egypt (We’ve found STILL EDIBLE honey in tombs)
Is a great tool in cooking, adding sweetness without raising the sugar content much
Is a staple food in many people’s diets
Honey is amazing you can put it on or in pretty much everything I goddamn love it and you should too.
Honey is also a natural antimicrobial that has been used medicinally since time out of mind on external wounds like edible neosporin.
Particularly useful in the treatment of dermal abcesses.
“oh no we steal it from the bees!” *has no problem benefiting from exploited migrant farm workers*
