Is honey vegan? 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Some people believe that taking this food source exploits and causes harm to bees. Avoiding animal exploitation is a basic principle of veganism, so most vegans do not eat honey. Honey is a natural product that many humans enjoy for its sweetness, nutritional value, and versatility. People use it in cooking, baking, traditional medicine, and cosmetics. Apiculture, or beekeeping, is the practice of maintaining honey bees and hives to produce beeswax, honey, or other bee-related products. Vegans avoid consuming or using products that harm or exploit animals, including meat, fish, dairy foods, eggs, leather, shellac, silk, or products tested on animals. Many vegans consider beekeeping exploitative, so they avoid eating and using honey. This article outlines the reasons some people think honey is acceptable in a vegan lifestyle and why many vegans avoid using honey. We also suggest some vegan alternatives to honey. How is honey made Share on Pinterestknape/Getty ImagesBees collect nectar from flowers to make honey. Natural enzymes in bee saliva break down the nectar into fructose and glucose, which bees store in honeycombs to feed the hive over winter. Constant fanning from bees’ wings evaporates excess water content to leave thick, sticky honey. Beekeepers extract honey from the hive and then strain it to remove wax and other particles. This leaves raw honey. Often, raw honey is intensely heated or pasteurized to remove pathogens. The result is processed honey. Learn more about raw vs. processed honey here. Why do some people believe honey is OK for vegans People may think honey is acceptable in a vegan lifestyle due to several beliefs, including: They believe bees are not animals Some people think vegans avoid simply eating meat, fish, and products derived from animals. However, the vegan philosophy extends to avoiding any product or practice that exploits animals — including insects — for the benefit of humans. They believe more bees are good for the environment Bees and other pollinators — such as wasps, beetles, and flies — are essential for pollinating plants. Without pollinators, plants cannot produce flowers, fruits, and seeds. Therefore, it may seem logical that the more bees there are, the better it is for the natural environment. While this is partly true, large, industrial-scale honeybee colonies tend to monopolize food sources and crowd out other pollinators, reducing ecosystem diversity. They believe that bees overproduce honey Another reason some vegans use honey is that they believe bees produce more honey than they actually need. So, removing much of the honey from hives does not deprive bees of their food source. However, this may be a simplistic view. According to the Natural Beekeeping Trust in the United Kingdom, honeybees do not overproduce honey. Bee colonies store honey to keep the hive warm during winter and use it as an energy source during the months when there is little to forage. Learn more about vegan diets here. Why do some vegans avoid honey Reasons for some vegans not eating or using honey products include: They believe honey production exploits bees Most honey is produced on an industrial scale by companies that manage vast colonies of honeybees. To maximize profit, they employ practices that some people consider exploitative. These practices include:clipping the wings of queen bees to prevent them from leaving the colony using pesticides and antibiotics to control pests and pathogensfeeding bees nutritionally inferior sugar syrup to replace their lost honey They believe honey production harms ecosystems Large-scale beekeeping can perpetuate the spread of infections among pollinators. This may have contributed to the decline in pollinator species over the last 50 years. Honey producers often transport bee colonies long distances to pollinate crops when they are in flower. Over several months, millions of farmed bees mix with wild pollinators, increasing the likelihood of spreading parasites and infections. Another impact of bees foraging from single crops is that they do not get diverse nutrients, which impairs their health. They may also have exposure to particular agrochemicals that cause them more harm. Vegan alternatives to honey There are many plant-based vegan alternatives to honey. They include:maple syrupdate syrupmolassesagave nectarcoconut nectarrice syrupbarley malt syrupgolden syrup Vegans may want to check product labels carefully as some syrups contain animal fats or animal-derived defoaming agents. Learn more about plant-based diets here. Summary Most vegans choose not to consume honey or use honey-based products as they believe honey production exploits bees. However, some people believe raising honeybees is ethical as they help pollinate plants. The counterargument is that the ratio of honeybees to other pollinators is unbalanced and may contribute to a decline in pollinator diversity. Large-scale honey producers employ practices that many vegans consider unethical, such as taking the honey bees’ nectar and replacing it with sugar syrup with low nutritional value. If people following a vegan lifestyle would like the sweet taste and sticky consistency of honey, there are several plant-based alternatives, such as agave nectar and maple syrup. Last medically reviewed on August 21, 2022Nutrition / DietVegan / Vegetarian 9 sourcescollapsedMedical News Today has strict sourcing guidelines and draws only from peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We avoid using tertiary references. We link primary sources — including studies, scientific references, and statistics — within each article and also list them in the resources section at the bottom of our articles. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.Bassier, A. (n.d.). Monoculture's effect on bees.https://www.montana.edu/hhd/graduate/dietetics/blog_posts/monoculture_and_bees.htmlFrizzera, D., et al. (2020). Possible side effects of sugar supplementary nutrition on honey bee health.https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13592-020-00745-6Honey: The unknown story about honey is that bees produce exactly what they need and no more. (n.d.).https://www.naturalbeekeepingtrust.org/honeyMallinger, R. E., et al. (2017). Do managed bees have negative effects on wild bees?: A systematic review of the literature.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5722319/Martínez-López, V., et al. (2022). Migratory beekeeping and its influence on the prevalence and dispersal of pathogens to managed and wild bees.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9160285/McKeown, P., et al. (2021). A 'Life-Style Choice' or a Philosophical Belief?: The Argument for Veganism and Vegetarianism to be a Protected Philosophical Belief and the Position in England and Wales.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7811388Ramsay. M.-T., et al. (2020). The prediction of swarming in honeybee colonies using vibrational spectra.https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-66115-5Raven, P. H., et al. (2021). Agricultural intensification and climate change are rapidly decreasing insect biodiversity.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7812793/The health benefits of honey and its nutritional value. (2020).https://www.eufic.org/en/healthy-living/article/the-health-benefits-of-honey-and-its-nutritional-valueFEEDBACK:Medically reviewed by Imashi Fernando, MS, RDN — By Ruth Eagle on August 21, 2022 Latest newsWhat sets 'SuperAgers' apart? Their unusually large neuronsOmega-3 may provide a brain boost for people in midlifeSeasonal affective disorder (SAD): How to beat it this fall and winterCDC: Monkeypox in the US 'unlikely to be eliminated in the near future'Why are more women prone to Alzheimer's? New clues arise Related CoverageHigh-protein vegan foodsMedically reviewed by Katherine Marengo LDN, R.D. Vegans often find it difficult to eat a lot of protein, but there are many plant based sources of this nutrient, including beans, tofu, quinoa, and…READ MOREWhat is the difference between plant-based and vegan?Medically reviewed by Grant Tinsley, PhD Being vegan is a philosophy and way of living, while plant-based refers only to a person's diet. 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