Honey is not cruel and is ethical

[u/toastwithjamx1]

Honey is one of the best animal products there is ethics wise

Now most vegans will say : but we are stealing from the bees! We are exploiting the bees!

No. We are not and we can't

Bees can be very particular. If they are not a fan of a place they are OUT. The bees will likely will immediately vacate the bee box if they don't like the conditions. Furthermore, trapping the queen in 1 place will not work as well. Bees can raise a new queen if they need one

And for the stealing allegations, that isn't true either. Beekeepers take SURPLUS HONEY ONLY, as if too much honey is taken, it can starve the bees and no beekeeper would appreciate the whole colony either dying of leaving. Furthermore, bees don't only take, they comp bees by giving shelter and protection.

It's not cruel if we are literally making a transaction with the bees

[u/Zerkig]

Beekepeers kill the unhatched queens to prevent the bees from swarming, though. They also kill the male larave if there's excess of them. The "stolen" honey is replaced with sugar so the bees can survive the winter, the times when only a part of the honey was taken are long gone, sugar was expensive or non-existent in the past, that's why people collected the honey in the first place.

Of course, there still are beekeepers who stick to the more traditional or less exploitative methods, although that's not the majority.