Just to remind you: I've been a vegetarian for over thirty years - long before it became fashionable. You may also recall that Linda is a back-garden beekeeper: she maintains three hives, producing 20 to 30kg of honey a year. The bees are well-treated, protected from pests like wasps, wax moths and mice and live out their industrious - and short - little lives in a specially planted garden which provides nectar and pollen all year round.
I have never understood the problem that vegans have with honey: domestic bees, unlike say pigs or cattle, are not purposely harmed. They are not cruelly deprived of their honey and reproduce at a prodigious rate on what is left and on the fondant they are fed in exchange.
I have just seen adverts online for a vegan honey substitute that make shocking - and untrue - claims about bees and beekeepers:
Existing honey production not only endangers bees, but also a lot of current shelf-ready products made from it, as they may contain toxins, pesticides, and antibiotics.
Plant-based honey is a solution to the alarming negative impact the bee-made honey industry has on biodiversity.
It is a fact that there are around 250,000 maintained Honey Bee colonies in the UK: despite what you may read, their numbers are not in decline, largely thanks to the UK's beekeepers. In contrast - and, sad to say, largely due to the reckless use of agrochemicals - populations of many of the 250+ species of wild bee in the UK are in sharp decline.
Another fact: honey produced by the vast majority of beekeepers is analyzed every year before sale to check for water content and other additives as well as its source: not only can Linda be certain her honey is completely pure, she can tell you exactly what flowers her bees are visiting every year!
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