imagine we make contact with an alien species that’s like, vastly technologically superior, they could fucking kill us in a single shot if they really wanted to
and this species has never eaten salad before. and we show them salad and they eat it and they’re like holy living fuck this is tasty. and suddenly they’re offering us huge houses with all kind of advanced technological shit and incredible medical care and all the amenities and everything, with the only condition that we keep making salad for them.
and like, salad isn’t even hard to make. grab some plants, dump em in a bowl. it doesn’t have to be fancy salad, they’ll fall all over themselves for the most mediocre salad in the world. we can make so much salad that we’re practically drowning in it, even if we eat some of the salad ourselves. and in exchange we’re protected from danger, we have great living conditions, it’s basically paradise compared to life on earth
imagine
now realize that this is what bees have done to us
This is the Jataí, a bee native to Brazil. Like all bees native to Brazil, she has no stinger and is super chill (nowadays we have bees with stingers, but they all came from Europe and Africa).
They like to build their hives inside nooks in solid rock or concrete and make a distinctive tube-like entrance that is carefully guarded against predators.
They’re really tiny and aren’t at all bothered by humans getting close to their hive so long as we leave them alone – my grandma had a hive on one of the walls in her yard for over 25 years, right by the narrow staircase that went up to the second level of the house where my gran lived (my cousin lived on the bottom half) and those gals gave zero fucks that a bunch of pinkish giants would stomp by their doorway on a regular basis.
I could stick my face right by their hive to watch them from close up and so long as I didn’t disrupt traffic absolutely no fucks were ever given.
#and I just don’t feel entitled to someone else’s life’s work.
That comment exactly!! It’s not mine and I can survive without it, so I will.
This is why honey is not vegan.
The problem here is that honey, especially if you buy it ethically from an apiarist, isn’t actually detrimental to the well-being of the bee or the hive. In the wild, honey is used as a food stock, but in a domesticated honeybee colony, the bees are fed quite well, and so the honey is a surplus.
The alternatives, like sugar, relies on monocrops in third world countries, with transient labour. Growing up, there was a sugarcane field by my house, and I’m sure the Haitian men who worked backbreaking hours hacking a machete through knife-bladed leaves in 40 degree heat for a couple dollars a day would have traded a testicle to be a Canadian honeybee. Stevia’s going the same way, iirc.
Additionally, apiarists are actually huge proponents and activists for sustainable bee-keeping, and it’s estimated that the domesticated hive may be the last great hope for declining populations, because we can optimize their chances for survival.
It’s their life’s work, sure, but it’s not the death of them to use it responsibly.
literally read anything about the history of sugarcane and the cuban sugar industry if you think sugar is or ever has been more ethical than honey
Beekeepers-
Provide a home for the bees
Keep that home warm in the winter
Keep the bees well fed, negating the need for honey, which the bees would make anyways
Still do not take all the honey, just in case
Protect the bees from predators
Monitor the hives for any signs of the parasites, diseases, etc. that cause colony collapse disorder
Their bees-
Provide a valuable and reliable source of pollination for plants in the area, both wild and crops
Help keep the local ecosystem healthy
Honey-
Is one of the healthiest things you can eat
Is able to keep for a EXTREMELY long time (Millennia even), making it more valuable than many perishable foods without being full of preservatives
Can be used to soothe sore throats, nauseau, etc.
Has been eaten by humans since at least Ancient Egypt (We’ve found STILL EDIBLE honey in tombs)
Is a great tool in cooking, adding sweetness without raising the sugar content much
Is a staple food in many people’s diets
Honey is amazing you can put it on or in pretty much everything I goddamn love it and you should too.
Honey is also a natural antimicrobial that has been used medicinally since time out of mind on external wounds like edible neosporin.
Particularly useful in the treatment of dermal abcesses.
“oh no we steal it from the bees!”
*has no problem benefiting from exploited migrant farm workers*
You may be wondering what bees need a hotel for, when they make their own hives. The truth is that many species of bees are solitary – the do not live in hives but instead construct their own nest. The main reason for this is because in these species every female is fertile and this would not make for comfortable communal living in a hive.
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