Are our bees 'enslaved'

[Pete D]

Had a lady yesterday give me a right old lecture about how I was being cruel to honey bees and had enslaved them for my personal gain.
She is a Vegan and below is what she believes

http://www.vegetus.org/honey/honey.htm

oh dear
She did wear nice perfume and make up though

So are you a slave master ?

Pete D

 

[Summerslease]

Whatever. It's just another belief system. The question is are you a believer or a non believer? We burn the non believers- metaphorically speaking of course.

 

[Finman]

.
My bees are breeded slaves. Nothing else.

 

[madasafish]

My bees are as much slaves as the worms I breed in my wormery.

 

[Davea]

Had a lady yesterday give me a right old lecture about how I was being cruel to honey bees and had enslaved them for my personal gain.
She is a Vegan and below is what she believes

I had exactly the same experience with man a few years ago when i was selling my honey at a boot sale.

I overcame most of his objections and invited him to a hive visit and said I would supply suit, gloves etc.
He declined the invitation.......

 

[Russel]

Can't be bothered to read article but does she also refuse to eat the crops these "slaves" pollinate?

 

[Pete D]

Whatever. It's just another belief system. The question is are you a believer or a non believer?

My thoughts really............... whatever...........

I read most of the article and for every claim of cruelty and slavery I could counter them with an appropiate answer. The article typically only gives one side of the story.

My conscience is clear, I sleep well, despite eating dairy, meat and fish products, wearing wool and sitting on leather, using cosmetics and burning fossil fuels..........guess I am typical example of modern man exploiting earths and natures resources for my own use and gain. Ah well
Of course there is the other arguement that says I do my bit.........but she wouldnt know that
I drive a Prius, have a ground source heat pump, a 5kw wind mill, have planted over a 1000 native trees in the last 5 years, dug a pond for the local wildlife and my fish, keep bees, grow veg and help others whenever I can.

Is that a score draw !

Pete D

 

[Chrisfnvs]

I look at it as gamefull employment rather slavery, anyway aren't we all slaves after all ?

 

[Finman]

I look at it as gamefull employment rather slavery, anyway aren't we all slaves after all ?

Question disqualified!

.

 

[BCBEE]

I bet she looked really well nourished,

Anyway there was a show on the local radio a few years ago where they invited a vegan onto the show.
Part of his spiel was about bees and he said that honey was not eaten by vegans as the bees were destroyed to get the honey. At the time I wasn,t a beekeeper but this suprised me.

Now of course i know better but it just shows you what some people believe

I am all for live and let live but I bet she wouldnt appreciate me forcing my opinion down her throat about my beliefs.

Leave her to it i say.

 

[Finman]

.
Let them keep their opinions ....let's try however

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvjz2cvaUhw[/ame]

 

[Stiffy]

Had a lady yesterday give me a right old lecture about how I was being cruel to honey bees and had enslaved them for my personal gain.
She is a Vegan and below is what she believes

http://www.vegetus.org/honey/honey.htm

oh dear
She did wear nice perfume and make up though

So are you a slave master ?

Pete D

Yes but not as much as we are to society, bring on the revolution brothers.

 

[verney]

Part of his spiel was about bees and he said that honey was not eaten by vegans as the bees were destroyed to get the honey. At the time I wasn,t a beekeeper but this suprised me.

Not far from truth. Beekeepers using skeps destroy the colony to get honey out. However keeping bees in skeps is not so common anymore.

 

[peteinwilts]

my queens are not clipped so they can leave if they want to... and sometimes do!

 

[peteinwilts]

my sister in law is a vegan, but has no problem eating honey... she does not see it as cruelty.

I guess it is the extremists that hold the objection. Their blind and blinkered views will never be changed

 

[susbees]

Not far from truth. Beekeepers using skeps destroy the colony to get honey out. However keeping bees in skeps is not so common anymore.

Skep beekeepers do not have to kill their bees to extract honey: all the bees can easily be driven up in a couple of minutes and combs can be removable from skeps for inspection too. We have a very good skep beekeeper in our BKA

 

[NickB]

Yes,I've been exposed to this "cruel to keep bees" argument before.....my answer is that I provide them with clean and dry accommodation,healthcare and,when time get tough,unemployment benefit (in the form of sugar-syrup).
In return for this all I expect is a fair rental.I am very flexible about the quantity of honey I expect from them,in fact this year I took none (as the quantity was too small to justify the palava of extraction) feeding their crop back as Winter stores.
They are,by definition,free to come and go as they please,and could easily abscond if they felt too enslaved....

 

[oliver90owner]

Simple. Explain that if beekeepers did not supply accommodation etc for bees, there would be no bees.

 

[ultreen1]

Simple. Explain that if beekeepers did not supply accommodation etc for bees, there would be no bees.

Exactly!

 

[peteinwilts]

Simple. Explain that if beekeepers did not supply accommodation etc for bees, there would be no bees.

not a great argument IMHO.

"in the beginning"... there were bees, and the bees managed themselves for countless years.. then came the beekeeper, and mites followed in their wake.