Honey, that magical gold liquid produced by our wee bee friends, is not considered vegan. Saying so might make some omnivores cock their heads and question: why not? It doesn’t hurt the bees, right?

Wrong. In short, bees produce honey as a food source for themselves — not for humans to put atop their granola. Honey is made by bees for bees, and their health is sacrificed when it is harvested by humans, explains Elena Orde of The Vegan Society.

The issue of commercial honey production and its effect on bees isn’t just something for vegans to worry about, however. Everyone should be concerned about the decline of honeybees and excessive worldwide demand for the sweetener, says Melissa Elms, co-owner of Minnesota-based Bee-Free Honee.

She and co-owner Katie Sanchez make a plant-based “honee” product using organic apples. The duo’s business got a boost after appearing on Shark Tank >>MORE