Sometimes - in unguarded moments - I get drawn into arguments with vegans about honey. I really should know better by now. Veganism is more like a religion than a sensible dietary philosophy: most of the vegans I have met know next to nothing about bees, beekeeping or honey, and automatically bow to their Chief Rulemaker (whoever that may be) rather than use their own judgement. After all, much of the food that vegans eat is on their plates because of bees and other pollinators.

Some of their criticisms of commercial beekeeping are indeed justified, but they really should learn to distinguish between beekeeping operations that are genuinely harmful to bee welfare - such as the large-scale pollination operations in the USA - and the growing number of small-scale beekeepers who are developing bee-friendly protocols and who do not extract more honey than the bees can afford to lose. The 'natural beekeeping' movement has made great strides in the last few years, and we are close to the point where we can confidently assert that we have a sustainable, chemical-free system that works well for the bees and for beekeepers. I think we deserve more respect for our efforts than to be lumped together with the commercial bee farmers, and vegans really should do their homework before tarring all beekeepers with the same brush.

However, as this attitude seems to be more a matter of religion than critical thought, I won't be holding my breath.

www.biobees.com