Vegans v Beekeepers?
Why do they hate us?
Increasing numbers of people are becoming committed to a plant based diet. They’re seeking a more sustainable interaction with the planet. Given big picture issues over water and land consumption and the existential imperative of climate change, they should be applauded.
Beekeepers on social media are currently energised by a polemic within which honey is far from wholesome, although they seem unsure as to why or what they can do to counter it. The assault in question comes from the Vegan Society, the Praetorian Guard of vegetarianism, and the responses range from befuddled to bemused. Occasionally it ramps up to actively aggrieved. Collectively, we, that’s to say beekeepers, don’t get it. There are plenty of vegetarian beekeepers after all. Why don’t these ones like us?
The schism is of course ideological. The Vegan Society, takes a somewhat blunt hatchet to Beekeeping on their website, urging avoidance of hive products at all costs and suggesting donation to “a suitable conservation charity” if people are temped by delicious honey or sustainable beeswax. This isn’t because products of the hive aren’t superb, they are, it’s because the Vegan Society believes that beekeeping is an “exploitation” of other living creatures. Bees, they rightly remind us, are a wild species, habituated to living in suitable cavities and not our wooden apiary real estate. The very act of honey production, from this perspective, is morally wrong. (See: https://www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/why-go-vegan/honey-industry)
In search of evidence and an emotional hook upon which to promote their contention, the Vegan Society critiques the international bulk honey trade. Ironically there is no distance between them and UK beekeepers on this point. It is quite true that 90-95% of our honey is imported onto the UK from places where unspeakable things are done both to the product and to the bees who produce it. Those things don’t happen here, so the pudding starts out slightly over egged if well meant.
Its very unlikely that beekeepers, on YouTube or anywhere, will win over committed vegans to the idea of honey consumption with appeals based upon our higher animal welfare standards, but that’s all we’ve got. We’ll just have to agree to disagree. Honey is, of course, vegetarian by design, minimally resource consuming and has been part of the human diet since, well, even before we were properly human. Honey from your local UK beekeeper is about as green as you can get and no bees are ever intentionally harmed in it’s production. For most people eating locally sourced high welfare honey is already a humane and green lifestyle choice leaving the Vegan Society with a position which may seem somewhat extreme.
But, is beekeeping exploitative as the Vegan Society claims? That fundamentally is the issue, and the answer is obviously “yes” within their moral definition. Bees are indeed a wild species corralled and used to produce resources for human consumption rather than their own. However, the notion that bees are exploited by beekeepers is not one that most beekeepers would accept readily. Bees are not pets, of course, but for most beekeepers, our bees have an undeniable special status in our lives. Are bees seen as livestock, similar to sheep and cattle? No, the relationship between beekeeper and bees is more nuanced. It’s very much a partnership, but only a fellow beekeeper would understand why that’s true.
Where the Vegan Society’s critique hits home, on the importation of queen bees and certain breeding practices, for example, they would hopefully be gratified to note that the beekeeping community is engaged in a long an energetic debate on the very same topics.
So, it comes down to this. If you love honey, but you are are concerned about the welfare of the bees who made it, you’re in good company, go find yourself a ethical beekeeper and support them. That’s perhaps the best way to absolve the taint of exploitation, and, as far as Gwenyn Maes Chwarel is concerned, we have an open apiary policy so you can join us to see how our bees are actually pretty pampered. (see Meet the Quarry Bees for more information).
#BeeLivesMatter.
