Question by Kagos: How is raising bees for honey exploitation if they… you know… have wings?
It’s not like they can’t swarm and fly away whenever…
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8 Responses to How is raising bees for honey exploitation if they… you know… have wings?
Hmm, interesting. My father is a bee keeper hoobyist. We have two hives and your’e absolutely right there is nothing you can really do to stop them flying away, or is there? Of course, him being a hobby bee keeper, he rarely takes the time to comb through the hive and remove queen cells which have an effect on bees swarming. There is a little more to it than that. Check out Wiki.
Of course the bees make honey, for themselves. It’s their main food source during the winter, which is why a beekeeper will replace the honey he takes from the hives and replaces it with glucose.
It’s a debatable subject as to whether or not eating honey results in, ‘Cruelty to animals’ or in this case insects.
The difference between vegans and nonvegans, is the element of intent. Vegans consciously strive to do no harm to any sentient life, including insects. This does not mean that vegans do not hurt others inadvertently, but that it is never their aim to do so.
Honey is made from nectar that is collected by honeybees and then regurgitated back and forth among them until it is partially digested. This mixture, which we call honey (which is essentially bee vomit), is then stored in the cells of the bees’ hive and used as their sole source of nutrition. When humans remove honey from the hive, they take something that is not rightfully theirs.
To collect honey, beekeepers must temporarily remove a number of the bees from their home. During the course of bee management and honey collection, even the most careful beekeeper cannot avoid inadvertently injuring, squashing, or otherwise killing some of the bees.
Honey is nevertheless considered an animal product.From a vegan perspective there is no justifiable rationale for using it.
Whether it is “exploitation”is just a matter of ones opinion, and anyway, honey, like maple syrup or molasses, is a concentrated source of sugar, and all should be used in very limited amounts. It is not like these are needed for a healthy diet.
Because the bees are often exposed to nicotine chemicals in the process known as smoking a hive, the nicotine is suppose to act as a calming agent but in reality it makes the bees disoriented in order for the beekeeper to cultivate their honey. Beekeepers exploit the fact that bees make honey and honey cone as there only food source and gather it for humans to consume, thus forcing the bees to have to make much more honey in order to keep the hive from dying out. This is why beekeeper’s often have large gardens close to where they keep the bees. When the beekeeper has decided that the bees are done working for the day the beekeeper has the ability to lock the bees in the artificial hives.
You are mostly right. Some beekeepers get their queens’ wings clipped to prevent them from flying off. Sometimes it is necessary to destroy queen cells because without the queen cells the bees can’t swarm (swarming is when the old queen and 1/2 the population leaves to find a new home). There are other manipulations made to make the bees comfortable in their hive, like moving parts around, expanding, feeding, etc. We try to keep them comfortable so they won’t even want to leave.
“Exploitation” simply means to use something, or somebody, for one’s own purposes. It is not necessarily bad, although many people use the term in a negative context. We all exploit in some way or another.
Honey is not the only purpose for which bees are exploited. They are also exploited for their willingness to pollinate commercial crops, which provide food for all of us; including vegans, even though they claim to oppose beekeeping.
I’m sure this is rational to them, somehow.
Hmm, interesting. My father is a bee keeper hoobyist. We have two hives and your’e absolutely right there is nothing you can really do to stop them flying away, or is there? Of course, him being a hobby bee keeper, he rarely takes the time to comb through the hive and remove queen cells which have an effect on bees swarming. There is a little more to it than that. Check out Wiki.
Of course the bees make honey, for themselves. It’s their main food source during the winter, which is why a beekeeper will replace the honey he takes from the hives and replaces it with glucose.
It’s a debatable subject as to whether or not eating honey results in, ‘Cruelty to animals’ or in this case insects.
As a vegan, I eat honey.
Chaz
August 2, 2013 at 4:02 pm
Purely and simply because the bees make the honey for themselves, not for us.
PS, vegans don’t eat honey. If someone who thinks they are a vegan eats honey, they are actually a vegetarian.
Sheila
August 2, 2013 at 4:31 pm
The difference between vegans and nonvegans, is the element of intent. Vegans consciously strive to do no harm to any sentient life, including insects. This does not mean that vegans do not hurt others inadvertently, but that it is never their aim to do so.
Honey is made from nectar that is collected by honeybees and then regurgitated back and forth among them until it is partially digested. This mixture, which we call honey (which is essentially bee vomit), is then stored in the cells of the bees’ hive and used as their sole source of nutrition. When humans remove honey from the hive, they take something that is not rightfully theirs.
To collect honey, beekeepers must temporarily remove a number of the bees from their home. During the course of bee management and honey collection, even the most careful beekeeper cannot avoid inadvertently injuring, squashing, or otherwise killing some of the bees.
Honey is nevertheless considered an animal product.From a vegan perspective there is no justifiable rationale for using it.
☮Lotus☮
August 2, 2013 at 5:16 pm
Whether it is “exploitation”is just a matter of ones opinion, and anyway, honey, like maple syrup or molasses, is a concentrated source of sugar, and all should be used in very limited amounts. It is not like these are needed for a healthy diet.
SwanFox
August 2, 2013 at 6:01 pm
How is manipulating consumers for profit brainwashing if they… you know… have brains?
It’s not like they can’t think and walk away whenever…
Learner
August 2, 2013 at 6:11 pm
Because the bees are often exposed to nicotine chemicals in the process known as smoking a hive, the nicotine is suppose to act as a calming agent but in reality it makes the bees disoriented in order for the beekeeper to cultivate their honey. Beekeepers exploit the fact that bees make honey and honey cone as there only food source and gather it for humans to consume, thus forcing the bees to have to make much more honey in order to keep the hive from dying out. This is why beekeeper’s often have large gardens close to where they keep the bees. When the beekeeper has decided that the bees are done working for the day the beekeeper has the ability to lock the bees in the artificial hives.
Number28
August 2, 2013 at 7:05 pm
You are mostly right. Some beekeepers get their queens’ wings clipped to prevent them from flying off. Sometimes it is necessary to destroy queen cells because without the queen cells the bees can’t swarm (swarming is when the old queen and 1/2 the population leaves to find a new home). There are other manipulations made to make the bees comfortable in their hive, like moving parts around, expanding, feeding, etc. We try to keep them comfortable so they won’t even want to leave.
I don’t clip my queens.
I Love Bees
August 2, 2013 at 7:23 pm
“Exploitation” simply means to use something, or somebody, for one’s own purposes. It is not necessarily bad, although many people use the term in a negative context. We all exploit in some way or another.
Honey is not the only purpose for which bees are exploited. They are also exploited for their willingness to pollinate commercial crops, which provide food for all of us; including vegans, even though they claim to oppose beekeeping.
I’m sure this is rational to them, somehow.
Dion J
August 2, 2013 at 7:38 pm