Do you eat honey? If not,why not?
- Thread starter DivineSpark
- Start date
Mostly I don't because I don't like honey.
When I learned how and why bees produce honey it seemed really really wrong to take it, and just as wrong to eat it.
I've heard from ethical bee keepers, who travel with hives for pollination. Basing on what I know, which isn't that much, their practice seems sound, and the specific knowledge sounds helpful in supporting bee colonies
I find the use of honey as a medicinal additive is little but marketing woo.
When I learned how and why bees produce honey it seemed really really wrong to take it, and just as wrong to eat it.
I've heard from ethical bee keepers, who travel with hives for pollination. Basing on what I know, which isn't that much, their practice seems sound, and the specific knowledge sounds helpful in supporting bee colonies
I find the use of honey as a medicinal additive is little but marketing woo.
My most hated question in vegan because .....I am just really undecided. I don't eat it, partly because I prefer Agave and partly cause I don't want to decide. If I have something with honey in it, I don't feel guilty. But I do tend to actively avoid it.
So a very strong Maybe on the whole subject.
I do occasionally but I also don’t call myself vegan. At this point in my life I am mostly satisfied with where I’m at.
Actually, it’s been harder for me with covid because of the lack of options in the local stores. I often have a hard time finding vegan Quorn products and they are my go to for faux meat. I also will buy whole wheat bread with honey if I can’t get it without. And when I go out to eat I will take a veggie burger even if it’s not vegan especially if my only other option is salad and I want something more substantial.
The longer I’m in this I feel like I don’t need the label. But it does feel good when I’ve had weeks/a few months when I know I’ve been 100% animal product free.
Sorry...I digressed lol.
I do feel like honey is not vegan, so when I’m trying to stick to 100% vegan I make sure nothing has honey in it. I think I feel like honey is similar to eggs in that it comes from an animal. If red food dye isn’t vegan because it comes from a bug then honey isn’t vegan either.
Actually, it’s been harder for me with covid because of the lack of options in the local stores. I often have a hard time finding vegan Quorn products and they are my go to for faux meat. I also will buy whole wheat bread with honey if I can’t get it without. And when I go out to eat I will take a veggie burger even if it’s not vegan especially if my only other option is salad and I want something more substantial.
The longer I’m in this I feel like I don’t need the label. But it does feel good when I’ve had weeks/a few months when I know I’ve been 100% animal product free.
Sorry...I digressed lol.
I do feel like honey is not vegan, so when I’m trying to stick to 100% vegan I make sure nothing has honey in it. I think I feel like honey is similar to eggs in that it comes from an animal. If red food dye isn’t vegan because it comes from a bug then honey isn’t vegan either.
Bees need all the help they can get these days so let's not take their food source. Anyway, it tastes fkg disgusting!
Lou
Forum Legend
I don't buy or eat honey on purpose. I actually do like honey. but it is not necessary or essential to good health. And I am not so sure about its medicinal value either. And there are plenty of other alternatives.
There are vegans who think honey is OK. They call themselves Bee-Gans. They may even have a good rationale.
The small beekeepers (like the guy who has a few hives and comes to the Farmer's Market), might be doing more good than harm. No one knows what causes CCD, and I know that it also affects the small bee keepers, but IF it is something that the large commercial bee keeping operations are causing, than the small operations might be helping the bees out. I know the local honey guy at the farmer's market and his bees only visit organic farms. however even organic farmers use pesticides, and honey bees can't distinguish property lines. Also, pesticides is just one theory of what causes CCD.
The other thing that might be worth mentioning is that the large commercial bee keepers do real harm to their bees. However honey is just a by-product to their operations. They make their money by renting their bees to famers who need their crops fertilized.
Coonicidently, Mid February marks the beginning of the short period that almond trees need to be pollinated. Right now billions of bees are being hauled in huge semis are making the cross country trip to California to pollinate California almonds. Millions of bees will die on that journey. Perhaps the stress of those trips contributes to CCD.
The Beegans make the argument that if vegans can't eat honey why do they eat almonds?
There are vegans who think honey is OK. They call themselves Bee-Gans. They may even have a good rationale.
The small beekeepers (like the guy who has a few hives and comes to the Farmer's Market), might be doing more good than harm. No one knows what causes CCD, and I know that it also affects the small bee keepers, but IF it is something that the large commercial bee keeping operations are causing, than the small operations might be helping the bees out. I know the local honey guy at the farmer's market and his bees only visit organic farms. however even organic farmers use pesticides, and honey bees can't distinguish property lines. Also, pesticides is just one theory of what causes CCD.
The other thing that might be worth mentioning is that the large commercial bee keepers do real harm to their bees. However honey is just a by-product to their operations. They make their money by renting their bees to famers who need their crops fertilized.
Coonicidently, Mid February marks the beginning of the short period that almond trees need to be pollinated. Right now billions of bees are being hauled in huge semis are making the cross country trip to California to pollinate California almonds. Millions of bees will die on that journey. Perhaps the stress of those trips contributes to CCD.
The Beegans make the argument that if vegans can't eat honey why do they eat almonds?
Urban Gardener
Forum Legend
I have eaten neither honey nor almonds while calling myself a vegan.
I did eat honey when I identified as vegetarian. I actually find it very addictive. I don’t buy it for that reason - I’d eat too much and get a sugar overdose.
I did eat honey when I identified as vegetarian. I actually find it very addictive. I don’t buy it for that reason - I’d eat too much and get a sugar overdose.
It is stealing from bees, so I don't. I don't remember anything special about honey, it can easily be replaced with maple syrup for example.
I do have a quart jar of honey from the family that I used to get me eggs from. They also have two hives. It’s been in the back of the cupboard since last year. I assume it doesn’t go bad? My son likes it but he will use it for a few weeks then not touch it fir months. I should remind him that it’s there.
I have an allergy to honey, so I have no problems keeping away from it
Calliegirl
Forum Legend
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2012
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- Lifestyle
- Vegan
Nope, I'm a vegan, and vegans do not eat animal products.
Urban Gardener
Forum Legend
I use maple syrup as a sweetener. It’s delicious and healthy.
Maple syrup production is more ethical and environmentally sound than the sugar industry or, obviously, the honey industry.
Maple syrup production is more ethical and environmentally sound than the sugar industry or, obviously, the honey industry.
Brian W
Conscientious Christian
I don't eat honey because I found out how much time and work it takes many bees to make just a tiny amount. They need it far more than we do.
I feel so sorry for bees. They work so hard during their short life and they are greatly exploited by the agricultural industry :
A recent survey of commercial beekeepers showed that 50 billion bees – more than seven times the world’s human population – were wiped out in a few months during winter 2018-19. This is more than one-third of commercial US bee colonies, the highest number since the annual survey started in the mid-2000s.
Beekeepers attributed the high mortality rate to pesticide exposure, diseases from parasites and habitat loss. However, environmentalists and organic beekeepers maintain that the real culprit is something more systemic: America’s reliance on industrial agriculture methods, especially those used by the almond industry, which demands a large-scale mechanisation of one of nature’s most delicate natural processes.
Nutrivegan
Newcomer
No, sweeteners are empty calories with few nutrients per calorie. They tend to be addicting and raise sugar levels and insulin and therefore tend to cause problems. I tend to use dates and dry fruit to sweeten things. At least they’re slowly absorbed, have fiber and nutrients.
