Why Don't Vegans Eat Almonds? Exploring the Ethical Debate

October 12, 2025 •

4 min read

Did you know that billions of honeybees are trucked across the U.S. each year to pollinate California's vast almond orchards? This process of managed pollination is a core reason why some ethically minded vegans question or avoid eating almonds.

Quick Summary

Examines the ethical and environmental debate surrounding almond consumption within the vegan community, focusing on the impact of managed pollination on bee populations and water usage.

Key Points

Migratory Beekeeping: Large-scale almond production in California relies heavily on billions of commercially managed bees, a process some vegans view as exploitative and stressful for the insects.
High Bee Mortality: Commercial pollination exposes bees to pesticides, diseases, and nutritional stress, leading to high annual colony losses and harming bee populations.
Intense Water Usage: Almonds are a water-intensive crop, and their cultivation is concentrated in drought-prone California, raising environmental concerns for some ethical vegans.
'Possible and Practicable' Clause: Most vegans still consume almonds, arguing that the indirect harm is a necessary evil under the "possible and practicable" standard, which focuses on avoiding direct exploitation like dairy and meat.
Almonds vs. Dairy: Despite the issues, almond milk production has a lower overall environmental impact (water use, GHG emissions) than dairy milk, offering a more ethical choice for most vegans.
Self-Pollinating Varieties: Scientific research is developing new self-pollinating almond trees that do not require migratory bees, offering a future solution to the ethical pollination problem.

The Ethical Dilemma: Migratory Beekeeping

The primary ethical concern regarding almond production stems from its reliance on commercial beekeeping. The majority of the world's almonds are grown in California, and most almond tree varieties are not self-pollinating, requiring cross-pollination to produce a crop. To meet the needs of the multi-billion dollar almond industry, commercial beekeepers transport billions of honeybees across the country in what is considered the world's largest managed pollination event. This practice is deeply problematic for several reasons:

How Almond Farming Impacts Bee Health

Stress and Exploitation: Transporting hives over long distances is highly stressful for bees and is seen by many vegans as a form of exploitation. The bees are forced into an unnatural, demanding schedule that serves human commercial interests, not their own well-being.
High Mortality Rates: Bees suffer from high mortality rates during and after almond pollination season. These losses are attributed to pesticide exposure, disease transmission from hive proximity, and poor nutrition from feeding solely on almond pollen. Some estimates indicate that as many as a third of commercial bee colonies are lost annually.
Impact on Native Species: Migratory beekeeping can also negatively affect native bee populations by spreading diseases and creating competition for limited resources.

For many vegans who avoid honey due to the exploitation of bees, consuming a crop whose production is so closely tied to similar exploitation is considered inconsistent with their core principles. The Vegan Society defines veganism as seeking to exclude exploitation "as far as is possible and practicable," which fuels the debate over whether avoiding almonds falls into this category.

The Environmental Footprint of Almonds

In addition to the ethical concerns surrounding bees, almond cultivation has a significant environmental footprint, primarily due to intense water usage. Approximately 80% of the global almond supply comes from California, a region historically plagued by droughts. Almonds are a water-intensive crop, and the industry has faced criticism for draining fragile water resources.

Almonds and the Water Crisis

Massive Water Consumption: It takes a substantial amount of water to produce a single almond. For large-scale production, this translates into billions of gallons of water annually used to irrigate almond orchards in an arid state.
Comparison to Dairy: While the water usage is high for almonds, it's often misrepresented in comparison to animal products. Studies have shown that a liter of almond milk uses significantly less water than a liter of dairy milk. This nuance is important to note, but the environmental impact of almonds remains a concern for some.

The Broader Context of Veganism: Practicable Choices

For most vegans, abstaining from all foods with any link to animal harm would be nearly impossible. Most crop farming, including organic, results in some level of accidental animal death from harvesting equipment or pest control. This is where the "as far as is possible and practicable" clause of veganism becomes important. Many vegans acknowledge the issues with commercial bee pollination for almonds but conclude that the harm is far less severe than that inflicted by animal agriculture. They argue that focusing on eliminating dairy and meat, which cause vast and deliberate animal suffering, is the most impactful and practicable course of action.

Comparing Almonds to Other Plant and Animal Products

To put the almond issue into perspective, it helps to compare its environmental and ethical impact with other food products. While almonds have a larger footprint than some plant-based foods, they remain a more sustainable choice than dairy milk across most metrics.


Impact Metric	Dairy Milk (per liter)	Almond Milk (per liter)	Oat Milk (per liter)	Soy Milk (per liter)
Greenhouse Gas Emissions	High (3.15 kg CO2e)	Low (0.7 kg CO2e)	Low (0.9 kg CO2e)	Low (0.98 kg CO2e)
Land Use	High (8.95 m2)	Low (0.5 m2)	Very Low	Low
Water Use	Very High (628 L)	High (371 L)	Very Low	Low
Associated Animal Harm	Deliberate exploitation/slaughter	Indirect harm to exploited bees	Unintentional deaths from crop harvest	Unintentional deaths from crop harvest

What About Self-Pollinating Almonds?

Scientific research has led to the development of self-pollinating almond varieties, which do not require commercial honeybees to produce a crop. While these varieties are not yet the industry standard, they represent a significant step toward making almond farming more ethically sound and environmentally friendly. For vegans concerned about the ethical implications of commercial pollination, seeking out products from these specific, bee-independent almond varieties could be a viable solution in the future.

Conclusion: A Nuanced Perspective

The question of whether vegans should eat almonds is not black and white. It highlights the complexities of modern, large-scale agriculture and forces a deeper examination of the vegan philosophy. While the practice of migratory beekeeping for almond pollination raises valid ethical issues, it is crucial to view this within the broader context of food production. The harm is far less than that caused by the dairy and meat industries, and avoiding every crop with an indirect link to animal harm is simply not a practical standard for most. For many, consuming almonds responsibly while advocating for systemic changes, like the adoption of self-pollinating varieties, represents the most logical and pragmatic approach to veganism.

To learn more about the complexities of ethical consumption, read this article by Plant Based News exploring the myths surrounding almond ethics: Are Almonds Really Unethical? The Truth About Their Bad Rep.

Frequently Asked Questions

For most vegans, almond milk is still considered vegan. The official vegan standard, which seeks to avoid animal exploitation "as far as is possible and practicable," recognizes that indirect animal harm can occur in all crop farming. Given that the impact of almond production is less than that of animal agriculture, most vegans accept almond milk as a viable alternative.

Migratory beekeeping is the practice of commercially transporting large numbers of beehives across vast distances to pollinate different crops in season. In the U.S., billions of bees are moved to California's Central Valley annually to pollinate almond orchards, a stressful and high-mortality event for the bee colonies.

Most large-scale commercial almond production relies on migratory beekeeping. However, some newer almond varieties are self-pollinating and do not require bees. Small-scale or organic almond farming may also rely more on natural pollination from native species.

No, studies consistently show that almonds and almond milk have a far lower environmental impact than dairy. Almond milk uses less land, water, and generates fewer greenhouse gas emissions per liter than dairy milk, making it the more sustainable choice between the two.

After pollinating almonds, many bees are loaded back onto trucks and transported to other states to pollinate different crops like cherries and melons. The immense stress and exposure from this process often weaken the hives, and many bees die.

Yes, many commercial crops rely on managed pollination, including avocados, cherries, melons, and some types of squash. This is another reason many vegans focus on avoiding animal products, whose environmental and ethical harm is generally greater, rather than trying to eliminate all plant foods with minor associated harms.

Vegans concerned about almond ethics can choose other nuts and plant-based milks. Alternative milks like oat, soy, and rice milk often have a lower environmental impact and do not rely on migratory beekeeping. Other nutritionally dense nuts and seeds like hazelnuts, walnuts, and hemp seeds are also excellent alternatives.

While almond farming is a major water user in California, blaming it solely for the state's water issues is misleading. Large-scale agriculture and climate change are significant factors. However, almonds' high water demand in an arid climate is a valid environmental concern for those practicing conscious consumption.