Vegans don't use honey

[harpy]

I read about one person who thought that as humans eat crops due to bee's pollination then it is difficult to get any food without bees so you might as well have other bee products as well.


I've read that even some beekeepers think one of the problems that's causing bee colonies to die off is the practice of pinching their honey and substituting sugar water for it.

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2007/nov/25/30bees-disappearing-act-may-spell-trouble-for/

So if people carry on eating honey there may not be any bees left to pollinate crops.

[Gorilla]

thanks for the link harpy. it makes sense, honey is the correct food for bees, and i'm sure it differs in nutrients from sugar water.

from that website: "an unknown illness caused more than half of the nation's kept bees to flee their hives and disappear." maybe it's not an illness - maybe they've had enough and decided to leave :D

[harpy]

There's quite a lot about "colony collapse disorder" on the web, e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_Collapse_Disorder

It seems likely that there is more than one cause but weakening the bees by taking away their proper food seems as if it could well be a contributory factor. Even from a human-centric point of view eating honey doesn't make any sense - we don't need honey but we do need pollination. (Sorry, I know I'm preaching to the converted here!)

[Zero]

The Vegan Sociey is unambivalent about honey now but that doesn't necessarily mean it always was.

This interview with Donald Watson http://www.vegparadise.com/24carrot610.html says about the formation of the Vegan Society "We also debated for a long time about the case of honey but again decided against it." He doesn't say how long though...

They considered it carefully and they came to the right conclusion, that's a good thing.
We should judge them on what the message they represent now, not an an archaic one. I think those who must think they are adhering to some "old definition" of veganism are kidding themselves :)

[green woman]

i never heard of the Vegan Society being ambiguous about honey. that sounds very odd to me. :confused:
I've been a member of the Vegan Society (on and off) since 1980 and I still have very old copies of The Vegan stashed away somewhere with the old definition in it. The mag used to be A5 sized with little drawn illustrations back in the day, not A4 and glossy like it is now. I did find an oldish mag from 1994 and that includes honey in the definition, so the 'individual conscience' thing goes back some way. I can assure everyone that it was the case years ago, I'm not making it up or getting confused. I expect someone proposed a motion at an AGM to change the definition and it was agreed. As I say, I haven't been a member constantly and remember noticing that the definition had changed when I rejoined once.

[Pearl]

I bought some organic golden syrup a while back and its cr*p as golden syrup, BUT if you liked the taste of honey and wanted to have it on toast, I reckon its a good substitute. Im not saying its healthy......but its nice in porridge:o

[Gorilla]

I can assure everyone that it was the case years ago, I'm not making it up or getting confused.

i didn't think you were making it up, i was just surprised and thought it sounded odd. :) you obviously know better than i do as you've been a member since the year i was born - not that i'm trying to make you feel old of course ;)

[green woman]

I'll get me zimmer frame :D

[cobweb]

why would anyone want to eat Honey?. It's revolting! (no offence to Bees or anything).

[emmapresley]

i suppose because its sweet..but noone here comitted to being vegan and posting on a vegan forum after acknowledging that they're vegan ought to be eating honey for 'health reasons'..or any other reasons without then acknowledging that they're not vegan. imo.
am sure there are stacks of other vegan foods that are healthy.
so...you know..

[cobweb]

i suppose because its sweet..but noone here comitted to being vegan and posting on a vegan forum after acknowledging that they're vegan ought to be eating honey for 'health reasons'..or any other reasons without then acknowledging that they're not vegan. imo.
am sure there are stacks of other vegan foods that are healthy.
so...you know..


go emmap, go emmap, go! :tongue_ani:

[fiamma]

Don't call me honey!!!

[cobweb]

honey!

[horselesspaul]

In the hive the bees use their "honey stomachs" to ingest and regurgitate the nectar a number of times until it is partially digested.
The bees work together as a group with the regurgitation and digestion until the product reaches a desired quality.
It is then stored in the honeycomb.

Communal bee puke, don't do it people.

[green woman]

If that was printed on jars of honey it might put more than a few people off.

[horselesspaul]

If that was printed on jars of honey it might put more than a few people off.
Certainly more than it would attract.

[snivelingchild]

If that was printed on jars of honey it might put more than a few people off.

Actually theres a brand of honey called bee puke or something tio that effect. I think someone on the forum linked to it at some point.

[harpy]

There was Bee Barf Honey apparently:

http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M12195

Not sure how well it's selling.

[Zero]

There was Bee Barf Honey apparently:

http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M12195

Not sure how well it's selling.

Oh see, look how natural it is to consume honey, you just need a special container to use as a "hive", some special trays and a special suit so you don't get stung to death by the little people who's food you are stealing! - oh wait, not so natural after all I guess :rolleyes:.

http://www.localharvest.org/images/member/thumb/thumb_12195.jpg

[cobweb]

^ is that one of the little people in the picture Zero?.
He's running off with his barf, away from the nasty man! :D

sorry, in all seriousness honey really revolts me, always has done :sad:

[Sarah_]

I had a huge conversation about honey and why I won't eat it with my bf's mom and she seemed quite incredulous the whole time, and ended the conversation with "you know, when you eat locally made honey, you get immunity to certain diseases something something with the bee honey something something blah blah. It's very healthy!"
I just said "I'm sure it is" and changed the topic. it's like when she told her son eating meat was healthy (especially LOCALLY FARMED MEAT) because they eat the hay and oats and stuff that will give you immunity to disease. I wanted to laugh and cry and throw something all at the same time.




PS, I thought honey tasted like stale ass before I was vegan anyway.

[Gorilla]

'stale ass', haha.

i get hayfever and loads of people have told me that local honey cures it because the bees get the pollen from the local plants, and eating their honey makes you immune. how exactly is that supposed to work?! :confused:

[Haniska]

:devil:Its supposed to keep a steady level of allergens in your body. That way your immune system doesn't whig out when allergy season comes along, it just thinks that it is normal.:devil:

:devil:The only reason I can fathom why *someone* would continue eating honey is if they found it hard to avoid in all the lovely non-dairy items. No big jar of honey on the counter or anything,
I might see that someone *could* find an exception for honey in "As far as possible and practical.":devil:

That said, if you wanted some honey would you go outside and take it, killing a few bees in the process? No?

[Risker]

Well what else could I do with it?

Like Roxy said, you could give it away, my question was genuine though, I was wondering if you rated honey as a 'more ok' animal product to eat than others like milk, eggs, meat etc.

[Pearl]

Well what else could I do with it?

Its annoying when that happens isnt it Sarah! I have read things in a hurry only to go home and find theyve got milk or something in them. Dont worry!

:)