Think Honey is a Cruelty-Free Food? Think Again!

It's another one of those things that you don't really think about. Honey. Most people like honey. Most people know it comes from bees. And I think that most people think that because it's natural and sold in health food stores that it is doing no harm to the bees. Wrong. Think about it. That's what I did. I thought, "Wait a minute. Why would bees willingly work so hard as to make enough honey to give to humans? Or more correctly, why would they make so much honey that they could afford to give it to people? If they could make excess honey then they could sell it, not just give it away. But bees aren't capitalists. They are communists, and individuals living under communism have only enough to survive. Like most insects that live in colony structures, they do everything to support the life and existence of the colony. They need every drop of honey they make to survive. There is no excess to make a profit!"

I emailed PETA to find out what really happens. And here it is. Jeff Haines, a correspondent assistant, sent me the following information, which I copied and pasted from his email. I also asked him about finding vegetarian dog and cat food, so there is some great information on that as well.

Dear Tere,
Thank you for contacting PETA with your inquiries.
Companies that offer vegetarian and vegan foods for animal companions (which are also not tested on animals) are listed at http://www.IamsCruelty.com/nottested.asp.
Unfortunately, like factory farmers, many beekeepers take inhumane steps to ensure personal safety and reach production quotas. It is not unusual for larger honey producers to cut off the wings of the queen bee so that she cannot leave the colony, or to have her artificially inseminated on a bee-sized version of the factory farm "rape rack." When the keeper wants to move a queen to a new colony, she is carried with "bodyguard" bees, all of whom--if they survive transport—will be killed by bees in the new colony.
Large commercial operations also may take all the honey instead of leaving the 60 pounds or so that bees need to get through the winter. They replace the rich honey with a cheap sugar substitute that is not as fortifying or tasty. In colder areas, if the keepers consider it too costly to keep the bees alive through the winter, they will destroy the hives by pouring gasoline on them, killing most of the bees with the fumes, and setting them on fire. Other times, keepers, who feel that lost bees are easily replaced, allow them to die when trees are sprayed with insecticide. Bees are often killed, or their wings and legs torn off, by haphazard handling.
According to the Cook-DuPage Beekeepers' Association, humans have been using honey since about 15,000 B.C., but it wasn't until the 20th century that people turned bees into factory-farmed animals. Luckily, many sweeteners are made without killing bees: Rice syrup, molasses, sorghum, barley malt, maple syrup, and dried fruit or fruit concentrates can replace honey in recipes. Using these substitutes will keep your diet bee-free. For more information, please see http://www.PETA.org/mc/factsheet_display.asp?ID=122.

To learn more about cruelty-free living, please see http://www.PETA.org/living/index.asp.

Thanks again for writing and for your compassion for animals.

Sincerely,
Jeff Haines
Correspondence Assistant
PETA Foundation
Support

S0 that's the story. There is no excess honey for bees to make a profit. Once again, humans exploit animals and they make the profit. Now I believe there are some bee keepers that keep enough honey in the hive for the bees to survive the winter, but I will have to do more research on that.

Stay posted for more animal information.

Tere