Ingredients and products
Is honey vegan?
Short answer
No. Honey is made by bees as a food store for the hive. Veganism excludes animal products – including beeswax, propolis and pollen. Swaps: maple, date or agave syrup.
The Vegan Society treats honey like any other animal product. Bees store it for winter; commercial beekeepers often take the store and feed the colonies sugar instead. Some apiaries also use practices such as clipping the queen’s wings.
What about local honey from a small apiary? Scale does not change the category: it is still a bee product. The debate about bees, pollination and biodiversity matters, but it is a different question from what is on the label. “Honey for immunity” is a separate health choice, not proof that honey is vegan.
In the kitchen, maple, date or agave syrup work well – or simply dates in your porridge.