Is bee pollen vegan? That’s a tough choice!
Health FitnessCould bee pollen be vegan?
Every respectable vegan knows that honey is not vegan due to the exploitation of bees in the process of ‘making’ honey, but is pollen vegan?
Well, there is no easy and direct answer here, as it is a personal choice, based on how you treat and live your veganism. Some vegans are more strict than others, while others are pretty loose with how they choose to act vegan.
In this article, we’ll cover the main points of why pollen may or may not be vegan, and why some vegans use pollen and others don’t touch it with a big stick.
Let’s first define what a vegan is for the non-vegans still reading:
“Veganism is a way of life that excludes all forms of exploitation and cruelty towards the animal kingdom, and includes a reverence for life. It applies to the practice of living on the products of the plant kingdom to the exclusion of meat, fish , poultry, eggs, honey, animal milk and its derivatives, and encourage the use of alternatives for all products derived in whole or in part from animals.”
donald watson, 1944
The arguments for and against vegan bee pollen
As you can see, being vegan means boycotting all forms of animal exploitation, but you still have to wonder if it’s vegan pollen. From determining if the collection or pollen could be classified as a form of exploitation?
For one thing, it’s because bees are normally kept strictly for the purpose of fertilizing fruit orchards and are often hired to fertilize flowers. Thus, humanity is exploiting the abilities of the honey bee and as such making the pollen non-vegan.
However, on the other hand, this pollen is a waste product, the bees have not collected it for their own purpose, nor have they encouraged or exploited them as humans to collect the pollen. Also, not all apiaries are maintained for human needs; some apiaries are developed for the benefit of the environment. In parts of the world with minimal bees, apiaries are set up to encourage local flora to grow and flourish, and the pollen from these companies is incidental, not manufactured.
Ultimately it’s a personal choice
The two previous reasons are valid; It’s certainly a personal choice when it comes to deciding whether or not pollen is vegan.
However, for those who are only vegan for the dietary benefits versus the ethical dilemmas, then pollen may be considered vegan in your situation.
This is due to its minimal effect on your caloric intake, moreover, pollen is loaded with all those natural enzymes, vitamins and minerals that your diet will be missing since you went vegan. By taking pollen, you’ll find all those minerals and vitamins you lost when you cut meat, eggs, and dairy from your diet.
Overall, I have to once again reiterate the answer to ‘is bee pollen vegan?’ It is a decision based on your strictness as a vegan and compliance with the above quote. However, if you personally decide that pollen is not vegan, you will miss out on taking a natural daily supplement that packs more oomph than an energy drink and multivitamin combined.
With such a limited diet, taking a supplement as powerful as pollen is a wise move for vegans looking to stay as active as possible while avoiding high-energy non-vegan foods.