To the editor: As a beekeeper with over 40 years of experience, I was shocked to read the anti-beekeeping letter from a staff member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The analogy he used, about stealing a family's canned goods, is false.
In places rich in wildflowers like much of California, bees have the ability to store a huge amount of surplus honey, made possible by careful management of the hive by the beekeeper.
Periodically, the beekeeper removes the excess honey, bottles it and stores it for human consumption, while leaving the honey in the hive for future use by the bees.
Beekeeping is the careful handling of an insect that produces honey, a substance that makes our lives sweeter. Without beekeeping, not only would we have no honey, we would also have no at least one-third of our food supply. Bee pollination is responsible for everything from beef (alfalfa is pollinated by bees) to watermelons.
PETA members' distorted viewpoint is dangerous. It is contrary to science and detrimental to our food supply. The vegan lifestyle PETA promotes relies heavily on controlled beekeeping, since bees pollinate many, if not most, of our fruits, seeds, nuts, and vegetables.
Nancy Steele, Altadena
