Is honey vegan? No, and what NZ vegans use instead

Is honey vegan?

No. Honey is made by bees, and veganism as defined by the Vegan Society, which coined the word, excludes all foods from animals, insects included; the society names honey alongside dairy and eggs. Honey is vegetarian. A jar sold as "vegan honey" is a plant syrup made to taste like honey, not honey.

Why isn't honey vegan?

Because bees are animals and honey is something they make for themselves. A colony gathers nectar, turns it into honey and stores it in the comb as food for winter and for raising young bees. When a beekeeper harvests, they take that store. The Vegan Society's definition of veganism is a way of living that excludes, as far as is possible and practicable, the exploitation of animals, and in diet that means dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals. On that definition honey is out, the same way milk and eggs are, even though no animal is killed to get it.

Beeswax, propolis and royal jelly are bee products too, so the same reasoning rules them out. Check lip balms, candles, food wraps and the glaze on some lollies: beeswax turns up in more places than honey does.

What happens to bees when honey is harvested in New Zealand?

A beekeeper lifts out frames of capped honey from the boxes above the brood, usually leaving the colony some of its own stores. Some bees die in the handling, and smoke is used to calm the hive while it is open. If the colony runs short, especially after a heavy harvest or a wet spring, beekeepers feed sugar syrup to keep it alive. Queens are often replaced every year or two to keep a hive productive.

One rule is particular to New Zealand. Under the American Foulbrood National Pest Management Plan, every apiary must be registered, and a hive found with American foulbrood, a bacterial disease of bee larvae, must be destroyed within 7 days and reported within 7 days, according to NZ Bee Health & Biosecurity, the agency that runs the plan. Vegans who point to harm in commercial beekeeping often mean practices like these. Beekeepers point out that managed hives are inspected and treated for disease, which wild colonies are not.

Is honey vegetarian?

Yes. Vegetarians avoid meat and fish, meaning foods that need an animal to be killed. Taking honey does not kill the colony, so honey, like milk and eggs, is generally accepted as vegetarian.

Why do some plant-based eaters still eat honey?

Some people who eat no other animal products make an exception for honey, a choice sometimes called "beegan". The usual reasons are that bees are not killed for it, that a small local beekeeper's hives are well looked after, and that managed bees pollinate the crops a plant-based diet relies on. Vegan organisations don't accept those arguments, and a food carrying a registered vegan trademark will not contain honey. The term matters if you are cooking for someone: if a guest says they are vegan, leave the honey out.

Vegan alternatives to honey in New Zealand, and what they cost

Every common swap is on the supermarket shelf. Golden syrup is the cheapest by a long way; maple and agave cost more than everyday honey. Prices are per kilo, or per litre for maple syrup, which is sold by volume.

Product (Woolworths)	Size	Price	Per kg / L	Best for
Woolworths golden syrup	400g	$2.55	$6.38/kg	Baking, flapjacks, porridge
Chelsea golden syrup	1kg	$7.79	$7.79/kg	Baking, Anzac biscuits
Chelsea maple-flavoured syrup	530g	$4.50	$8.49/kg	Pancakes (flavoured sugar syrup, not maple)
Cinderella Camel date syrup	400g	$6.50 (usually $7.49)	$16.25/kg	Dressings, toast, tahini drizzle
Chelsea organic agave syrup	360g	$9.85	$27.36/kg	Drinks and cold sauces, dissolves easily
Queen 100% pure maple syrup	250mL	$10.00 (usually $11.79)	$40.00/L	Pancakes, roasting, closest to honey on toast
For comparison: Woolworths liquid honey	500g	$7.39	$14.78/kg	Not vegan
For comparison: Arataki clover honey	500g	$10.49	$20.98/kg	Not vegan

Source: woolworths.co.nz online prices, checked 1 November 2026; the house-brand honey price was checked 27 October 2026. Specials are marked; prices change often. See [what honey costs per kilo](/guides/honey-price-nz).

For swapping one for one in a recipe: golden syrup and date syrup are about as thick as runny honey and work at the same quantity. Maple and agave are thinner, so a cake may need a little less liquid elsewhere. Honey browns faster than most syrups, so a recipe written for honey may need a few extra minutes in the oven with a swap.

Is "vegan honey" real honey?

No. Products sold as vegan honey or "bee-free honey" are syrups, usually from apples, rice, dates or cane sugar, flavoured and thickened to behave like honey. The ingredients list will tell you what is in the jar. Real honey labels in New Zealand name the honey and often its floral source and region; how to read a NZ honey label covers what each line means.

Is it okay for vegans to eat honey?

Not by the standard definition. The Vegan Society lists honey among the animal foods vegans avoid, with meat, dairy and eggs. Some plant-based eaters choose to eat honey from small local beekeepers, but that is a personal exception, not vegan practice, and vegan-certified foods never contain it.

Is mānuka honey vegan?

No. Mānuka honey is made by bees in exactly the same way as clover or bush honey, and the UMF or MGO grade on the jar measures mānuka markers, not how the hives were kept. Every mānuka honey is a bee product, so none of it is vegan.

Is there cruelty-free honey?

Not under any official standard. No label or certification in New Zealand defines "cruelty-free" or "ethical" honey. Small beekeepers who take only surplus honey and avoid sugar feeding exist, and buying direct from a beekeeper lets you ask how they work, but vegan organisations still count any harvested honey as an animal product.

Do vegans eat beeswax or foods made with honey?

No. Beeswax, propolis and royal jelly are bee products, and foods containing honey, such as some cereals, muesli bars, crackers and sauces, are not vegan either. Check the ingredients for honey, beeswax or E901, the additive number for beeswax used as a glaze.

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