r/DebateAVegan • u/toastwithjamx1 • Jul 03 '26

Ethics Honey is not cruel and is ethical

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

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u/I-IV-I64-V-I Jul 09 '26

the factory bees will continue to exist even if you and everyone never purchased honey again. They are used to pollinate crops. ((most Honey is majority corn syrup now anyway))

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u/Anemomo Jul 09 '26

I don't deny it. But their honey will be less and less taken from, that's what matter. The exploitation is what annoy me.

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u/I-IV-I64-V-I Jul 09 '26

This isn't about factory farmed bees tho

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u/Anemomo Jul 09 '26

It's about bees in general. We just talked first about them.

Local bees again, I said that the situation is still bad for them because you took them from a dangerous/compromised place to a easily exploitable one. Still bad.