Harvesting Honey and Bee Wellness
Honey is made by bees for bees. Beekeepers replace honey with a sugar substitute inferior for bees’ health. Bees need their honey to survive winter. Bees are overworked so organizations can profit from their honey. Bees visit up to 10,000 flowers in one day working hard. Robbing describes bees invading another hive, stealing honey. While honey bees generally are not aggressive towards humans, they exhibit defensive behavior when they feel their hive or queen is threatened to protect them.
Is Honey Harvesting Cruel to Bees?
Honey bees collect nectar and store it as honey, their source of food. Harvesting honey correlates with exploitation, not veganism. Large operations replace hives’ honey with poor sugar, profiting as bees overwork themselves replacing it. Bees are generally not aggressive to humans unless their hive seems threatened. Bees then exhibit defensive behavior to protect it.
Impact of Harvesting Honey on Bees
Beekeepers harvest surplus honey, claiming this does not impact hives. However, judging bees’ required amount is impossible. Bees need honey surviving winters. Large operations replace hives’ honey with poor sugar, profiting as bees overwork replacing it. Bees typically do not bother humans. But they do exhibit defensive behavior if their hive seems endangered, to protect it. Invading bees also steal honey, battling resident bees. Many die.