Bees and veganism

I was doing some thinking.
I know eating honey isn't vegan, but how is supporting bee farming a negative thing? Honeybees are already endangered, and bee farms are one of the only things promoting the breeding and survival of honeybees... is there something I'm missing?

 

Great point. And its just so damn good.

 

I absolutely agree. Unless someone gives me a reason that I shouldn't eat honey, with good proof, I believe it is something that is going to go back on my menu.

 

honey farming involves the transportation of hives from one state to another - one local honey producer [eastern montana] i know is out-of-stock as his bees are currently in california

some believe that the long-distance transportation of bees may be responsible for their population decline - i don't know if that's true or not, but i can't imagine that it helps

as far as taste goes, i use agave nectar

 

I think if you look into how anything vegan that is eaten, insects are involved on some level.

 

the point is to do as little harm as possible

 

Does bee farming harm the bees?

 

As long as you do not 'farm' the bees

 

it is possible that transporting hives is harmful

transporting hives may or may not be essential to bee farming, but it is standard operating procedure where i live . . .

so, possibly, yes?

 

just because something isnt 'vegan' does not automatically mean that it becomes negative.. its that attitude that makes me suspect of ALL vegans....the skinny bastards

 

Yeah, terribly annoying indeed. I have to agree with ya.

 

i'm somewhat overweight

it's all the starches

fortunately my teeth are such a mess that i no longer worry about honey

the animal i'd be hurting is me

 

If I feed my slaves well, house them and clothe them, does keeping them to work on my cotton plantation harm them?

 

Yes, if they're really slaves. Not the best comparison I think since it might work for bees.

 

Not quite seeing the bees/"cotton pickin' niggers" comparison there, sorry.

I mean, what do they bees do with the honey after they have made it? Does it have some other kind of function other than making pancakes taste nice?

Does extracting the honey harm the bees?

I'm asking.

I take bee pollen for hay fever actually. It's pollen that is taken directly from the bees somehow, or a honey hive before it turns into honey. I don't know if that harms the bees or not, but without it I wouldn't be able to breath through my nose very well, may through july.

 

all vegans cant escape the minute particles that a bee can leave behind on a flower or vegatable...it is the reason a certain percentage of cockroach parts are ALLOWED in peanut butter made commercially..they are microscopic but the ARE there

 

I'm vegan and I occassionally take honey medicinally. There actually is some cruelty involved http://www.veganpeace.com/animal_cruelty/honey.htm unless its organic.

 

Explain, please.

 

It's pretty obvious unless you are trying to avoid it.

It's their food, stored for the winter. It's like you spend all summer growing potatoes, carrots, turnips and such nutritious things to see you through the winter. Once you get it all stored away in your root cellar, your slave owner takes it away and gives you dry bread to see you through the winter instead.

 

Just hoping someone would explain to me what the deal was, which you did. It's their food.

Well, that's too bad sorry, I am still going to take it for my hay fever, because it's the only thing that has ever seemed to work for me, apart from the homeopathic nasal spray which stopped working after three consecutive years.