We’ve all heard the term biodiversity, but we often forget that we play vital role in protecting it.
In fact, bees are actually doing a better job at it than we, humans, are. I recently discovered this article in the Washington Post where there is, yet another, food that is “off-limits” for vegans. Now, while the article was weakly attempting to convince its audience to give up one of the best creations of Mother Earth (avocados, if there was ever a needed introduction), I was more intrigued by the depiction of the labor of bees and their role in the honey industry, and more importantly, their role in the ecosystem.
Many don’t know that being vegan means abandoning ALL animal products. This includes, not only meat and dairy food products, but products such as leather boots or beeswax candles. Recently having read into the Fair Trade Industry, which is a whole other story, I was compelled to read about another aspect of the laborious production that occurs on the fields: Bees.
Bees are important to our ecosystem because they are pollinators. The more a bee pollinates a crop, the healthier the crops will be. Nicholas Butler of Good Time Bee Farm, Squamish, BC, Canada, explains how the seed becomes genetically stronger because the genetic diversity brought upon by bees in the most sustainable way possible.
While the approach is natural, there are not enough bees to do this work, at least for the benefit of consumption, and so farmers practice migratory beekeeping, which is driving beehives to fields where they pollinate crops during the most fertile window for plants. According to an article on The Washington Post, bees are starved and cannot forage or defecate when on the road. The mixture of bees from different locations in the same farms also makes room for disease spreading and colony collapse. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals mention that “These tiny animals are factory-farmed, much like chickens, pigs, and cows are.”
Choosing plant-based options and alternatives is something anyone can do to avoid contributing to the exploitation of bees. Agave nectar is a great alternative to honey, which is not even meant for human consumption. I also highly recommend watching the award-winning documentary, The Pollinators, which goes more in depth of the importance of honeybees as part of the ecosystem, not just a honey supplier.
