Is honey vegan?

No, honey is not considered vegan by standard vegan definitions. Veganism avoids animal exploitation and animal-derived products. Honey is produced by honeybees (Apis mellifera), which collect flower nectar, process it enzymatically inside their stomachs, and store it as their primary winter food source.

Commercial honey production often involves practices like wing-clipping queen bees, replacing honey stores with inferior sugar syrups, and killing colonies during harvest. Because honey relies on insect labor, vegans choose plant-based liquid sweeteners instead, such as pure maple syrup, date syrup, agave nectar, brown rice syrup, or apple nectar.