The commercial production of produce on the level that brings food to your grocery store is dependent on the rental of beehives for polination. Bee populations do not exist naturally to polinate all the crops being produced. So orchard owners and the like pay to have commercial beehives brought in to insure succesful yields every year. In fact, there is more money being made in whoring out bees to the agriculture industry than there is to be made in harvesting the honey. But I’m not saying that honey isn’t harvested.

The transportation of mobile hives all over the country has contributed to interbreeding of bees from all over and an increase in transmission of diseases from hive to hive. This “necessary” trade increases the chances of? a single disease or pathogen dessimating large numbers of bees across the nation. And if you are playing along at home, that would lead to famine.

We are all “benefitting” from commercial beekeeping. We are all in danger because of it. So what are we to do?

I propose that vegans take up beekeeping. Go on with your aversion to honey. No need to harvest it, I suppose. I don’t care one way or another. But if more people kept bees (especially if you live in regions that are heavily agricultural) then there would be less of a need for mobile hives. I’m especially looking at you Californians. Nearly every mobile hive in the US makes a stop in California for the Almond industry. If those of us who lived near orchards and farms kept a healthy local population of bees then we could help to protect bees nationwide from falling to a single pathogen. Maybe you don’t want to be a beekeeper. Well then maybe you should think about reaching out to local beekeeping organizations and seeing how you can help encourage local beekeeping and inquire on how to insure that those bees stay local.

I’m always hearing other vegans say that they are the ultimate environmentalists. We all know that eating local produce is better for the environment and the local economy. How is it any different with bees?

Look, I don’t have the answers. I have an answer. But it may not be your answer. Obviously, unless we all grow absolutely everything we eat then we are passively accepting (and even encouraging) many non-vegan industries. If anything this is food for thought. So feed your thoughts.