In the midst of Whole Foods' bee Instagram takeover debacle, there's another bee-centric question begging to be answered: Is honey actually vegan? A quick Twitter search will tell you this is a fiercely contested debate, and there doesn't seem to be one clear answer. Let's break it down.
The Basics
According to dictionary.com, the word vegan means "a vegetarian who omits all animal products from the diet," and "a person who does not use any animal products, as leather or wool." Honey is made by bees that extract nectar from flowers, regurgitate it in the hive, and then store it in honey comb. By the dictionary standard, then, honey would not be considered vegan, as an animal is needed to make it. However, not everyone sees it that way.
Where It Gets Grey
For one, bees don't die in order to make honey, like cows, turkeys, or chickens do. However, there's an easy hole to poke in that argument: vegans don't eat eggs, either. Plus, according to The Vegan Society, selective breeding — done to increase productivity — narrows bees' gene pool and is making them more susceptible to disease. That, combined with the destruction of bees' natural habitats, pesticide use, and malnutrition (bees are sometimes given corn syrup or another sugar alternative to eat instead of their own honey), can cause bees to die. Until 2017, when there was a 3 percent increase in the bee population, bees were declining at scary rates.
As PETA points out, the Queen Bee's wings are sometimes clipped within farms, and bee wings can be ripped off in transport or while being handled. For anyone following a vegan diet for the well-being of animals, these are obvious reasons to skip out on honey.
Why It's Defended
The most common argument for calling honey vegan: it makes the lifestyle seem extremely strict otherwise. The Vegan Bros explain that here. Other anecdotal reasons for vegans eating honey include not classifying insects as animals and simply allowing for wiggle room in a mostly-vegan diet.
What To Eat Instead
If you look at vegan-advertised products that could contain honey, like protein bars or cookies, you'll notice it's largely missing from the ingredient list (and if it's not, Twitter users tend to call them out). Instead, brands such as Macro Bar and Lenny and Larry's Complete Cookie use molasses or brown rice syrup as a sweetener. For those looking for vegan alternatives to honey at home, date and maple syrup are often used. Bee Free Honee, a company featured on Shark Tank, is a plant-based alternative made with apples, cane sugar, and lemon juice that apparently tastes just like the real deal.
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All in all, while the way honey is classified is largely up to the discretion of the vegan, most signs point to no — honey is not vegan. And regardless of your stance, there are plenty of reasons to cut back on your honey consumption. First and foremost, when bees are in danger, all the crops they pollinate, like almonds, berries, and broccoli, are in danger too. And that's not a good look for your grocery store.
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