how are bees abused in making honey/how can you abuse a bee?

Question

I can see how other animals are abused, and am apalled by it, but BEES?

Answer 1

I believe that vegans/vegitarians don't eat honey because it is a product created by an "animal/insect." I think it is more because it is exploiting the bee.

Answer 2

The bees are flooded with smoke to make them pass out, not handled carefully when the combs are pulled, and damaging the combs can damage the larvae.

Add to that, some vegans don't think any animal (or it's subsequent output) should be used. Bee vomit (honey) falls under the same category as cow milk. Even if done ethically you are still subjugating the animal.

Personally I really like honey and I don't think the bees suffer all that much. I usually stick to local single-flower honeys because they're the tastiest and most varied.

EDIT:
you're also stealing the food supply they use to feed their larvae

Oh Greenghost there is absolutely a difference in the taste between Agave Nectar and honey. Hell, most honeys taste different from each other (except for the bear kind and clover - that's almost generic.) I'll pardon your ignorance because you are a vegan and don't eat honey (so how would you know) and also because most people who do eat honey just grab the squeezy bear off the shelf instead of exploring the wide variety of local honeys (sourwood honey tastes VERY different from orange blossom honey)

Answer 3

Please note that many (but not all) beekeepers will 'cull the herd' and kill many of their bees. This allows them to increase the amount of honey they 'harvest' since the surviving bees being smaller in number need less honey to survive the winter.

Since Agave Nectar is indistinguishable from honey there is no real reason to take the bees honey!

Edit:

LX V, Yes, I know there are many different types of honey. Did you know that different Agave Nectar's also taste different? Try a few and you'll see what I mean (hint, look for the darker ones). I'm not a vegan! But I do limit my use of honey since there *IS* a good alternative. I also know some beekeepers that would be quite offended at you looking down at the honey they put in those plastic bears!! Not all of the bears get filled with a lower grade blended honey you know. I've never messed with the hives (allergic to the stings) but I've spent time cutting and centrifuging combs to strip the honey and processing combs into clean wax for candle-making. I've also gotten stuck with the job of loading warmed honey (so it flows better) into jars and those darn bears (The worst part is sticking those d*mn labels on!).

What I haven't gotten to do (yet) is visit a place that makes the Agave Nectar since most of it's from Mexico.

Instead of flaming me with "I'll pardon your ignorance because you are a vegan and don't eat honey (so how would you know)"
You could have instead mounted an attack on Agave Nectar! There are some potentially negative aspects to it! (I'll save those for another time)

Answer 4

The only things I can think about are the smoke irritating them and that some bees and larvae can be killed in production.

I'm not sure if the public at large considers bees an animal able to be abused, although, as with everything, I'd imagine some people do.

Answer 5

this is what it says on
http://www.petakids.com/candy.html

Honey—Sure, honey tastes sweet, but you’ll get a bad taste in your mouth when you learn how it’s "harvested."

From a former beekeeper: "[T]ypically, beekeepers are gloved and netted to avoid stings (nearly every bee who stings will die due to her entrails being pulled from her body attached to her stinger.) Then the hives are opened as quickly as possible and the bees are ‘smoked.’ Smoke from a smoldering fire carried in a ‘smoker’ is pumped into the hive and the bees are ‘calmed.’ In spite of this, the combs are pulled quickly and many bees are crushed in the process. When a bee is hurt, she releases a chemical message that alerts and activates the hive members who proceed to attack the intruder—giving their lives in the process."

Answer 6

I haven't the slightest idea why bees could be aBused
in making honey.

On the contrary : I'm sure bees would be very aMused
that we like and eat the honey they make,
if they were human beings of course...

Answer 7

Bees are absolutely abused, and even if they weren't, they make honey for themselves and the good of their hive, not to feed greedy humans.

Answer 8

Taking honey from the hive doesn't harm the bees at all. I may be guilty of having harmed a few that have gotten in my house. I resort to a fly swatter for any flying insect that gets in my house. As long as they stay out of my house, I leave them alone.

Answer 9

Is this even a concern? How the hell can one abuse a bee? Are we not paying them a living wage for their hard selfless work in a production environment? Has OSHA failed to come to the hive to mandate safety protocols? Has the feminists come to the hive to take up the bees cause as their own as the Queen is oppressed by a male dominated network?
I got it! There's no diversity in the hive. No WASPs allowed!

Answer 10

the only thing i can think of is that the bees make the honey for themselves and then we take it, but you're right, if you abuse a bee, he'll kick your a*s*s!!