why I don't eat honey

[Guest guest]

If you haven't heard about the disappearing bees, please take notice

now, and do what you can. We need them for pollination, not their

honey.

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Unfortunately, like factory farmers, many beekeepers take inhumane

steps to ensure personal safety and reach production quotas.

 

It's not unusual for larger honey producers to cut off the queen

bee's wings so that she can't leave the colony or to have her

artificially inseminated on a bee-sized version of the factory

farm " rape rack. " When the keeper wants to move a queen to a new

colony, she is carried with " bodyguard " bees, all of whom—if they

survive transport—will be killed by bees in the new colony.

 

Large commercial operations may also take all the honey instead of

leaving the 60 pounds or so that bees need to get through the winter.

They replace the rich honey with a cheap sugar substitute that is not

as fortifying. In colder areas, if the keepers consider it too costly

to keep the bees alive through the winter, they destroy the hives by

pouring gasoline on them and setting them on fire. Also, bees are

often killed or have their wings and legs torn off by haphazard

handling.

 

According to the Cook-DuPage Beekeepers Association, humans have been

using honey since about 15,000 B.C., but it wasn't until the 20th

century that people turned bees into factory-farmed animals.

Happily, many sweeteners are made without killing bees: Rice syrup,

molasses, sorghum, Sucanat, barley malt, maple syrup, cane sugar, and

dried fruit or fruit concentrates can replace honey in recipes. Using

these will keep your diet bee-free.