Nuts & avocados may not be vegan

[vegweap]

Almonds, cashews and avocados may not be vegan


Some farms will bring in bees from afar to pollinate the plants. This causes stress, pests and death.

I believe other crops in the US are also farmed the same way.

 

[Lou]

Almonds, cashews and avocados may not be vegan


Some farms will bring in bees from afar to pollinate the plants. This causes stress, pests and death.

I believe other crops in the US are also farmed the same way.

This is an interesting debate. and one in which has been used by carnists to throw shade on vegans. This arguement has been on YouTube for years and even made it onto TV talk shows a few times. (1)

domesticated or sometimes called industrial or commercial honeybees pollinate at least 30% of the world's crops. In the USA it's more like 75%. Almond, apple, blueberry, cherry, and various melon industries being almost entirely dependent on them.

And the issue for vegans is that these honeybees are being exploited - not for their honey - but for the ability to pollinate. (very few commercial honey bees have their. honey harvested - there just isn't the demand. in fact one could make the argument that it is less vegan to drink almond milk than to sweeten something with honey). (2)

Part of the issue is that you don't need honey bees to pollinate crops. Plants did just fine before. Instead honeybees are collateral damage of industrial agriculture and the practice of monoculture. Huge areas that just have one crop cannot sustain a population of pollinators large enough to pollinate the crop.

With almonds the problem is just amplified. An almond blossom requires a dozen visits by a bee to assure pollination. Also the time period that an almond blossom is fertile is very short. So almond growers need to import billions of bees from all over the county to ensure a good almond crop. (3)

I live in California and I have witnessed interstates 80 and 5 just crammed with semi tractor trailers filled with hives. This long distance travel is stressful for the bees and millions of them die on the journey. (4)

The demand for almond milk has skyrocketed. So in California many farmers have switched to growing almonds. I do applaud every time a diary farmer gives up and sells all his cows and turns his land into an orchard. it would be even better if he grew multiple crops.

Almond milk IS very tasty and low calorie. But it doesn't have the proteins and fiber that oat milk has. And soy milk is ever better nutritionally. So I hardly ever buy almond milk. And I don't buy many avocados either.

And sure one could make an argument that drinking almond milk but avoiding honey isn't entirely logical but boycotting almonds and avocados aren't the answer either. Instead we need good policies that discourage mono cropping. If we could get away from industrial agriculture - it would not only be better for the bees but also better for wildlife, water quality, and food quality and availability.

1. https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/10/health/avocado-almond-vegan-partner

2. Why vegans can't decide whether they're allowed to eat honey.

3. Almonds Need Bees, and Bees Need Almonds

4. https://www.npr.org/2017/03/09/519500033/bees-travel-cross-country-for-the-california-almond-harvest

 

[g0rph]

And the issue for vegans is that these honeybees are being exploited - not for their honey - but for the ability to pollinate. (very few commercial honey bees have their. honey harvested - there just isn't the demand. in fact one could make the argument that it is less vegan to drink almond milk than to sweeten something with honey). (2)

I've said this for a long time.
And one couldn't just make the argument.
Eating honey from small, organic apiaries IS objectively more ethical than using industrially farmed almonds or avocados.

The problem goes back to "vegan purism" and how many people transition and for some reason, overnight suddenly make everything black and white rather than different shades of grey.

No, it isn't vegan as the rules stand. But honestly, I don't think it should matter.


And these arguments coming from carnists should simply be ignored for the logical and irrelevant whataboutism they represent.

 

[1956]

I've said this for a long time.
And one couldn't just make the argument.
Eating honey from small, organic apiaries IS objectively more ethical than using industrially farmed almonds or avocados.

The problem goes back to "vegan purism" and how many people transition and for some reason, overnight suddenly make everything black and white rather than different shades of grey.

No, it isn't vegan as the rules stand. But honestly, I don't think it should matter.


And these arguments coming from carnists should simply be ignored for the logical and irrelevant whataboutism they represent.

Hey there @g0rph I understand what you are saying, but we don’t Need to consume honey at all - so Why do it?
Personally I find that Maple syrup is a Much tastier sweetener!
To me the other plant mylks are Much nicer than Almond and I don’t miss eating almonds…
As for Avocados I rarely buy them even though I do enjoy eating them…
And as for the arguments coming from carnists - yep, no use listening to them at all…

 

[g0rph]

Hey there @g0rph I understand what you are saying, but we don’t Need to consume honey at all - so Why do it?
Personally I find that Maple syrup is a Much tastier sweetener!
To me the other plant mylks are Much nicer than Almond and I don’t miss eating almonds…
As for Avocados I rarely buy them even though I do enjoy eating them…
And as for the arguments coming from carnists - yep, no use listening to them at all…

Hi 1956. I don't eat honey. And I prefer Agave...
Honey does have its advantages though, as a forever food that doesn't need chilling. It's also anti-bacterial.

 

[Lou]

Hey there @g0rph I understand what you are saying, but we don’t Need to consume honey at all - so Why do it?
Personally I find that Maple syrup is a Much tastier sweetener!
To me the other plant mylks are Much nicer than Almond and I don’t miss eating almonds…
As for Avocados I rarely buy them even though I do enjoy eating them…
And as for the arguments coming from carnists - yep, no use listening to them at all…

And as @g0rph said, Good responsible beekeepers (like the small guys who sell their honey at farmer's markets) may benefit honeybees in general. Although that may be not a good argument. honeybees are not native to North American and they are not endangered.

The native bees are the ones that deserve our concern. all these honeybees are putting pressure on their population via competition for food. I have noticed that some awareness among the human population is providing some relief. Putting native species in their suburban yards and metro areas providing "Bee Highways".

What Can We Do to Encourage Native Bees?

Pollinators need a diverse, abundant food source and a place to build their nests and rear their young. If we keep these two elements in mind, we can encourage native bee populations.

extension.psu.edu

https://beehighways.org/

 

[Graeme M]

The way I think about this is that the main aim of veganism is keeping animals free - we object to the unfair use and chattel property status of animals. So when we can do so, we withdraw demand from animal-using systems. That's why we wouldn't buy honey - the bees are chattel property and we can choose not to buy honey.

Even so I think we have a duty to avoid causing cruelty when we can as well. When it comes to pollination, the use of bees is now endemic to much crop production. It's not easy for us to find alternatives that are not pollinated by commercial services using bees and it's hard to say we'd be making any real difference overall as somewhere along the line bees are being used to pollinate some or most of the foods we can buy.

That said, there are choices we can make, for example buying soy or oat milk rather than almond milk (these typically do not use bees for pollination) but unless you are going to sit down and try to do some complex calculation across all your foods, I don't think it's worth worrying about. If your personal consumption is likely to influence farmers, then OK. For now, it won't.

Finally, I'm not moved by the appeal that insects including bees are sentient enough to demand the same moral concern as people and cows.

Insects and Vegan Principles

People sometimes criticise vegans for causing insects to be killed by farmers protecting crops, but this seems rather disingenuous when we notice that everyone kills insects all the time and they a…

justustoo.blog

 

[wildr0se2]

The problem goes back to "vegan purism" and how many people transition and for some reason, overnight suddenly make everything black and white rather than different shades of grey.

Yeah, I agree. While I hope someday we find alternatives to exploiting bees for pollination, my concern as well falls back to that we have to eat *something*. I feel like consuming cashews, almonds, and avocados is less evil than consuming a steak or a block of cheese, for example. That is NOT to say that one issue within veganism is more important than the other! I just feel that purity will drive us up a wall, and even if pollination wasn't an issue, carnists will find anything to mock veganism. Pesticides are also an issue, we kill insects unintentionally when we travel...I hate having to pick and choose battles but we'll drive ourselves crazy with certain things. :/