Vegans do not consume animal products. AIUI, it has something to do with ‘exploitation of the animal’. Given that bees are used to pollinate many crops, and that transporting them has adverse effects on their hypopharyngeal glands that ‘play a critical role in social cohesion’, and that thousands of bees surely die in transit, is eating foods pollinated by bees contrary to vegan philosophy?
AFAIK most vegan groups do not condone the use of pollinated plants for human consumption (much like the Jains). From Wikipedia:
A little history:
Insect *products *is a different issue than a plant that has been pollinated by insects. Some staple food crops do not require animal pollination but the list of crops pollinated by bees is quite long, and other crops are pollinated by other insects or birds.
It is hard enough to get a balanced diet on a vegan regimen; I would think it would be nearly impossible if you exclude bee-pollinated plants.
There would be a thriving market for expensive, hand-pollinated apples and oranges.
Reductio ad absurdum proves that vegans are obligated to starve to death.
Plants grow in soil. Soil is differentiated from rock by the action of millions of animal organisms which break up and fertilize sterile rock.
Eating plants grown in soil is exploiting the labors of animals.
Therefore, vegans can eat nothing that grows in soil. Q.E.D.
But AIUI, vegans object to exploiting animals. As cited, transporting bees from one place to another has detrimental effects. I don’t know how many bees die during transport, but there are obvious examples where loads of bees are spilled, killing many, in mishaps.
Of course. But I’m asking about crops that are pollinated by captive bees, not ones that rely on wild populations of different insects/animals.
ETA:
True, but those organisms are ‘wild’ populations that are not introduced and used in the same way that captive populations of bees are. While we take advantage of what they do, we (broadly speaking) do not ‘exploit’ them by raising them, transporting them, etc.
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That’s not a distinction most of the posters above were observing, but since you emphasize it again here, fine. Naturally-created soil made by wild earthworms and such. But things like man-made compost piles, which lure wild organisms to create fertilizer. They’re wild, but you can argue they’re still being exploited since they’re working for the Man. So no composted soil.
But good luck finding vegetable foodstuffs you can guarantee are only pollinated by wild pollinators. The only way you can guarantee that is to completely eliminate apiculture, so that all pollinators are by definition wild pollinators. But that’s not happening, ever.
If the intention of the philosophy is not to increase the overall exploitation of animals, I think choosing foods that are naturally pollinated and accepting that maybe some berry you consume was accidentally pollinated by a wayward bee from a managed colony is reasonably consistent.
That said, IANAV, but I’ve known a fair number of vegans, and I’ve never heard one mention that crops pollinated by managed bee colonies was a problem for them. But I’ve also never asked. Perhaps next time I will.
The key is to do everything possible and practical to avoid exploitation. Most vegans are not trying to be “pure,” we’re trying not to contribute to the misery in the world.
Modern commercial (mis)management of bees is a concern and should be reformed if not eliminated. That said, it doesn’t prove that we might as well give up and eat cows, which is what most people seem to be hinting at when they talk about this sort of thing.