I definitely noticed the nerf to the honey drop rate from tree stumps in A21 - it was a marked difference; however, it wasn't game breaking by any means.
The last game I started, I had to spend a good chunk of the day 1 or day 2 (I forget) to get my first honey from wild stumps, but it's worth it. Try to have honey before actually getting infected because chances are against you for getting one from a stump before you reach 5% infection.
There's no way the drop rate is 20%, unless i'm not understanding the other posters here. It's not 1 honey per 5 stumps chopped, no way, more like 5% or 1 in 20.
Also, the wood gathered from getting that first honey is very useful early game, so it's not like you're totally wasting time.