• flughoernchen@feddit.orgEnglish
      8·
      1 month ago

      Apart from it obviously not being vegan - others jumped that train already - honey bee industry is actually pretty bad for the environment. Especially in areas with a lack of natural pollinators the competition honey bees place further destabilizes the ecosystem, even worsening the insect die-off.

      (That’s not the article I learned it from, just the first one I found on that matter. Feel free to recommend better ones.)

    • Ledivin@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      1 month ago

      Honey and wax don’t typically qualify as vegan, but I’ve always found that to be absolutely ridiculous. Don’t feel bad for eating honey, they can literally leave at any time - and occasionally do.

      • Barbarian@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        6·
        1 month ago

        they can literally leave at any time - and occasionally do.

        Isn’t clipping the wings of the queen fairly common practice? That’s what keeps the bee hive in place, from what I understand.

        • Ledivin@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          1 month ago

          It’s illegal in most countries and frowned upon by most beekeepers. It happens, sure, but it’s absolutely not “fairly common practice.”

          • Barbarian@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            3·
            1 month ago

            It’s illegal in most countries and frowned upon by most beekeepers.

            Could you please give me a source on the legality? Can’t seem to find anything. From my own google-fu, it seems it’s a controversial practice, with different beekeeper blogs laying out the pros and cons. It looks very much like an ongoing discussion rather than a clean “It’s bad, don’t do it ever” like declawing is for cats, for example.

            Considering putting pigs (who are known to be smarter than dogs) into gas chambers to suffocate to death while their lungs burn is 100% legal in the EU, I would be absolutely astonished if they actually had a strong animal welfare stance on bees.

        • naevaTheRat@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          6·
          1 month ago

          And when the evil bugs come in and spread they get the cute little bee vets in who carefully tend to them. Wait, not they don’t! They plug the entrance with oily cloth, drench the hive in petrol and light it on fire.

          We also know the bees don’t really mind the comb being harvested because they don’t try to sting or anything. Bee keepers famously never have to induce torpor and wear protective equipment to do it.

          Anyway I’m a landlord and I know it’s ethical because if the tenants didn’t like it they could just leave, and sometimes they do!