Vegan Forum

Why?

because honey is not vegan.

I just read an entire article about this and about bees.
Very interesting.. I learn a lot of new things by being vegan!!!

I'm vegetarian.
Why it is not good to eat honey?
We don't kill the bees...
??????

Vegetariamism might be about not killing, but veganism is about not exploiting at all. To acquire honey, you have to exploit bees. While it might be OK (but still not vegan) to do it naturally (that is, by climbing up the tree and stealing the honey from the beehive), nobody really does it this way any more. You would be surprised how the bees are breeded nowadays.

DollyDimples wrote:It's kinda gross that honey is, technically bee vomit (as it is regurgitated back and forth between bees until it is partially digested!)

Hm.. now this is something I didn't want to know...
Well at least it's not bee shit.

I guess you are right! *lmao*

What about fruits with worms, cherries for example. If you accedentaly eat one are you still vegan? :-?
And how can you really check these fruits for worms or even smaller insects?

As they say, it's the thought that matters. Nobody in so called 'civilized' countries is really vegan. Did you ever post a letter via traditional mail? There's a big chance you licked the remains of a nice, little piggy. The glue is sometimes made from their hoofs, to be more exact. I can multiply the examples of what you can find in your drinking water, processed food (white sugar is often refined using bone carbon) etc. As you can see, being vegan is not about factual state, but about the way we choose, the things we learn and our attitude in general.
The path is more important than the destination, because we spend our whole life walking along it.

[edit] I just noticed I didn't directly answer your question, so here goes: I usually check the fruit before eating it, but sometimes of course I eat some fruit worm within... but I never noticed it, so I couldn't have prevented it really. The worse case is when you boil some veggies or otherwise prepare some fruits and after that you notice some dead worm in it... but the damage is done and again, there's not much you could do about it, is there? Of course I don't eat the worm then.

Masha wrote:What about fruits with worms, cherries for example. If you accedentaly eat one are you still vegan?
And how can you really check these fruits for worms or even smaller insects?

That's not a problem with me. And the insects are in their chosen environment. Being vegan is about compassion and about making cruelty free choices whenever possible. This is usually a very simple thing to accomplish. Like bojster says, it's the thought that counts.

Well said dragonfly!

xDDx

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to congratulate those of you who are actively doing your part to put a halt on the meat/dairy industry. Us at Revolted Alliance focus on many different progressive topics on a daily basis. The issue of animal consumption is just as important as any of them. If you treat animals poorly, it is just a matter of time before you treat people that way!

DollyDimples wrote:Here's an interesting article on honey ==> http://www.friendsofanimals.org/actionline/fall-2004/is-honey-vegan.html

Hi everyone! I'm the web coordinator at Friends of Animals (we published that article linked to above). Some people we having trouble getting to the article, so I thought I'd provide a link:

Is Honey Vegan? (Friends of Animals, Fall 2004)

Hope it helps!

Thanks, alexisallen!

You vegans need to give it a rest. The bees don't want the darn honey! You're making extra space in their hives by taking it! You're more considerate of animals than you are of people! If you were starving you'd buy food from a hungry person.

MomoPeach wrote:You're more considerate of animals than you are of people!

It just looks this way because we try to defend animals that people eat.
In reality Compassion is what motivates vegans, the way they feel how is it to suffer. Not everyone can understand it. Many people who never suffered in their lifes would find it hard to understand others people suffering. Not even mentioning other animals suffering.

If it happens for me to be in a situation when I have to defend a man from an animal, a rabid dog for example, I would do it without even thinking.
Human being are animals too in a way. We have 2 eyes, 2 ears an heart, we feel pain like any animal does.
So the goal is to minimize suffering in general...


Just imagine that you think it is wrong to steal, just because you don't like when someone steals from you. Now imagine that you have a brother that
makes a living by stealing things from people. You know that there are many other ways to make money, that are safer and more pleasant, and you try to tell it to your brother.
In the end he just tells you that
You're more considerate of other people than you are of your family!

?

No one's stealing from the bees. What are the bees going to do with the hone, sit in it?

And even if they did have a use for the honey, they're insects! There are cookie crumbs bigger than them, it's not like you would be depriving them.....

we once considered being a honey vegan, but now bee's milk makes us bugsy like other non-vegan meats, and we'll drink heavily.
Do the deer worry about the worms in shrooms? Vegan is actually impossible on earth. Be a Jain. Janus.

Honey was one of the last non-vegan things I gave up.(Partly because I didn't know it wasn't considered Vegan.)

I thought it would be hard, but beleive it or not, once I found out, it was no longer a part of my life.

I had known some products I was consuming contained honey, but then those products just dissappeared.

Hmm, I never ate much honey anyway. But when I turned vegan, people kept buying me toiletries with royal jelly in them how strange...

There's an article on Bee welfare here: http://www.vegansociety.com/html/animal ... n/bees.php
The major welfare problem is to do with the egg-laying process: the queen bee is artifically inseminated with sperm from decapitated bees. She is usually killed after 2 years, when her egg-laying abilities decline. New queens are purchased by mail order, and have their wings clipped to force them to stay in the same location [taken from the Animal Free Shopper]

No one's stealing from the bees. What are the bees going to do with the hone, sit in it?

Bees store honey for the lean winter months. Humans take it, and replace it with glucose or corn-syrup (which is nutrient-deficient). Synthetic pesticides and antibiotics are also used on the bees.

And even if they did have a use for the honey, they're insects!

They are intelligent insects with a complex communication system.

As my father always said, you might come back as an insect in the next life

"Like other factory-farmed animals, honeybees are victims of unnatural living conditions, genetic manipulation, and stressful transportation ... Profiting from honey requires the manipulation and exploitation of the insects' desire to live and protect their hive. Even the most careful keeper cannot help but squash or otherwise kill many of the bees in the process. During unproductive months, some beekeepers may starve their bees to death or burn the hive to avoid complex maintenance."

_=Stepaniak=_

Try reading 'a world without bees'. It's really informative about bee exploitation and made the issue clear to me.

Thanks for that Redsunflower that might help. I often ask how can we hurt bees by eating honey...

BEEKEEPERS USED TO KILL OFF THE BEES IN WINTER.

So vegan is defined by philosophy not what you eat?

samuadam wrote:So vegan is defined by philosophy not what you eat?

Is there any difference here regarding honey?

Because it enslaves bees

They don't eat honey because farming honey bees usually overwhelms the native bee populations, and the local ecosystem suffers because of the changes in pollenation. Or at least that's why it started. Now some vegans are saying it's because of enslavement of bees and stealing their honey, but I think that's kind of stupid and illogical because the bees actually overproduce honey in captivity, and honestly they are insects and have no idea that they are "enslaved." But yeah, the environment is important.

eating honey is stealing teh bees food.