We love bees! That’s why we use alternatives to honey and do everything else we can to help our insect friends. Here’s what you need to know to join us:

Importance of Bees
Insect Apocalypse
The Harms of Honey
Honey Alternatives
Other Ways to Help Bees

Bees may be the most important animals on earth, in terms of doing things that help to keep the rest of us alive. Bees pollinate one-sixth of all of the flowering plant species in the world as well as 400 different food crops!

There are thousands of species of bees, only a few of whom make honey. Even fewer are used in commercial honey-making. Many wild bees are now endangered. This is part of an “insect apocalypse” that threatens all life on earth.

All animals, including humans, depend on plants for food and oxygen. Many plants depend on pollinators. Bees and other pollinators may be small, but ecosystems depend on them. When bees and other pollinators die off, we all come closer to extinction.

Many people think that buying honey is a way to support bees, but nothing could be further from the truth. Along with habitat loss and climate change, bee-keeping for honey is one of the reasons that many species of bees are endangered.

When hives of captive honey bees are established, they can crowd out native bees when foraging. It takes two million flowers to make just one pound of honey. All of those flowers could have fed wild bees, butterflies, and other essential insects!.

Commercial honey operations truck captive bees from field to field. Diseases bred in the close confines of what can only be called honey factories can spread into wild population

The process of bee-keeping is also unkind to bees themselves. While we cannot know exactly how they experience this, it cannot be satisfying to have to eat sugar water after someone has appropriated the honey you spent the summer making to see your hive through the winter. Nor can it be pleasant to be periodically forced from your home by smoke.

No wonder bee-keepers have to wear protective gear — just like every other animal exploited by humans, bees fight back!s.

Be kind to bees by avoiding honey! Here are some vegan alternatives:

• Maple Syrup: Since VINE is located in Vermont, we have to give a shout-out to our favorite local vegan product. Made from the springtime sap of maple trees, pure maple syrup is a versatile sweetener that brings you the benefits of thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), calcium, manganese, and other vitamins and minerals. It you think you don’t like maple syrup because of the taste of artificial maple flavor, trust us and give pure maple syrup (preferably made in Vermont) a try!

• Agave Syrup: Made from agave plants, agave syrup comes in light, amber, dark varieties. Light is more neutral while dark contains more nutrients, which include vitamins C, B1, B2, and B6. Agave is very sweet, and is also less sustainable than maple syrup, so use it in moderation and always start with less than you think you need.

• Dandelion Jelly: Because it is made from flowers, dandelion jelly tastes very much like honey. So, if what you enjoy is the flavor of honey in your hot tea, give dandelion jelly a try. You can make it yourself in the spring or buy it online.

• Brown Rice Syrup: Made from brown rice, this syrup is somewhat less sweet than honey and closer to the consistency of molasses.

• Honey Analogs: Because more and more people are going vegan, more and more companies have begun to make honey substitutes, often from very innovative ingredients such as coconut nectar, apples, dates, or tapioca. So, if you’re feeling adventurous, try a new type each time you run out until you’ve sampled them all!

Here at VINE Sanctuary, we take especial care to cultivate wildflowers favored by bees and to provide appropriate habitats for native bees. You can do that too!

If you have a yard or other land, the easiest way to help is to do nothing! Participate in No Mow May or leave the mower in the shed forever. Let the dandelions and other early bloomers feed the bees! Throughout the growing season, let the “weeds” grow. In the fall, refrain from picking up fallen leaves or knocking down stalks. In the spring, wait until plants have begun to grow again before removing the stalks from the last year, under which ground-nesting insects may be resting.

If you’re feeling energetic, do some research to learn which wild bees are native to your region and which wildflowers you can plant to feed them. Some bees appreciate housing too, so check out whether there are bee houses you can make as a craft!

Still curious? Learn more about the honey industry, the environmental harm done by commercial bee-keeping, and the marvelous diversity of bees themselves.