Honey
Posted by Allychristine on Jul 21, 2008 · Member since Dec 2007 · 15438 posts
Eating honey is not vegan.
Discuss.
I know this has been talked about many a time on VW, but I would like to be involved in the discussion. If you aren't interested in debating if/why/etc. eating honey is not/is vegan, then don't post!
Ha! I don't know if it makes it more or less cute that I gave them fresh water daily and put a bit of towel in the bowls so the ants that were treading water could crawl out. I used to say I had to go home and water my ants.
Ha! I don't know if it makes it more or less cute that I gave them fresh water daily and put a bit of towel in the bowls so the ants that were treading water could crawl out. I used to say I had to go home and water my ants.
Very much less cute! ; )
The ants were still very cute, but the human was more pathetic. I worried over my ants like I worried over Cat.
eta: I had to turn my computer back on to explain this. It's because once I take responsibilty, even partially, for another living being's health, I'm filled with stress and pressure and purpose and intent.
The only main-brand graham crackers I've found sans honey is Keebler cinnamon, which are hard to find even though Keebler is a mainsteam brand. Sometimes I've gotten the health food store ones, which do qualify as crackers (not sweet at all!!), and a few other times I've gotten Mexican brand cookies that sound like graham crackers (Ricanelas http://www.mexgrocer.com/5031.html ). This time around, I used Hob Nobs, which are a good substitute... more molasses-y than a graham cracker, but I probably like them better anyway.
Those r all valid points... i'll let the bugs be i suppose... great a spider just started crawling on my wall in front of me... how ironic... my first relocation attempt begins :) wish me luck
Good luck!
http://www.offthemarkcartoons.com/cartoons/2004-02-13.gif
I've never been the type of person that freaks out when they see a spider or bugs. I would hate the thought of mice in my house, but those things you plug in have always done the trick when I had a problem, plus I have a cat, and she would get to anything much quicker than I would
Those r all valid points... i'll let the bugs be i suppose... great a spider just started crawling on my wall in front of me... how ironic... my first relocation attempt begins :) wish me luck
I keep yogurt cups in almost every room and when I see one, I cover it with a cup, slide a stiff piece of paper underneath, and carry it outside. Its really easy! Occasionally, the edge of the cup smooshes the spider, but not very often.
Don't the bees make excess honey so they will have it to eat over the winter? Or something like that?
It seems mean to take it away after they worked so hard to make it.
Local honey is HUGE around here and people just don't get why I don't want to eat it.
I've been the spider-relocator since, like, elementary school. I INVENTED the glass/stiff paper technique!
But to be honest, recently I've killed some bugs. Roaches and ants invading my apartment! I feel like the roach thing is justified because (1) the manager probably wouldn't want it any other way... (other apartments and stuff) and (2) relocating a couple doesn't solve the problem. With the ants, I've never found a nice way to deal with an invasion. I tried EVERYTHING a couple years ago when this happened, and all that cayenne pepper/paprika/peppermint oil/cinnamon stuff doesn't work if the ants are hell bent on your food/water. I wound up using a non-chemical but lethal method: yeast mixed into molasses :( I feel bad about it though. I like ants! I relate to them and their society thing.
Just want to join the spider-relocater club.
Yeah, we also kill bugs when it's an "us or them" situation (I'm looking at you, fruit flies), but I still feel like crap about it. Every time, I end up saying, "Why's you pick our house? Why not the compost heap, or - even better - the neighbors compost heap?"
Oh, well.
I'm looking at you, fruit flies
hahaha
I just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in on this thread. I'm an avid supporter of the Bee. Without bees our veggie lifestyle would be totally changed and in many instances not possible. The variety of fruits we can enjoy is all made possible by our friend the bee, specifically the honey bee.
In China uncontrolled use of pesticides has eliminated bees in many regions. The farmers in these regions now have to pollinate their own crops. One hive can pollinate 3,000 trees in a day, one farmer can pollinate maybe 30 trees in a day. You can see how this is devastating to fruit production. In no way can the world's consumption of fruit be supported by human pollinated crops.
The honey industry ensures we still have bees in our world. Without the bee there would not be a honey industry, so the apiarists devote their time to ensuring their bee's are healthy and well cared for. If all people stopped eating honey, the honey industry would die. The use of pesticides will eventually wipe out the bee and we would be living in a very different world.
I understand that as a vegan many would not want to eat honey, but I feel before you make a decision you should do some research and understand that without bees there will be no tomatoes, peas, beans, strawberries, apples, peaches, blueberries....the list goes on. Your diet will consist of wheat, corn and other wind pollinated crops. Quite boring if you ask me.
Eating honey essentially supports the survival of the bee. Not to mention the many health benefits honey provides.
For some really good information I suggest reading "Fruitless Fall" by Rowan Jacobsen.
I'm still trying to figure out where I stand on honey. =-( It's so hard!
Honey= from an animal=not vegan
But are they being harmed and exploited, or are we ensuring their survivial and ours by breeding them and using their products?
It's all so confusing!
Yes. Bees are being harmed. Bees are being exploited. We are not ensuring their survival. Just because bees are small doesn't mean that they don't count.
Eating honey essentially supports the survival of the bee. Not to mention the many health benefits honey provides.
Let me test this out:
Eating _______ essentially supports the survival of the _______. Not to mention the many health benefits _______ provides.
Eating dairy essentially supports the survival of the cow. Not to mention the many health benefits dairy provides.
Eating eggs essentially supports the survival of the chicken. Not to mention the many health benefits eggs provides.
Nope. Doesn't work for me.
HH - I would read the suggested reading. Without the honey industry there will not not be bees in our world. Populations of wild bees are already failing on every continent and extinct in many places. Don't believe me? Put in some research. Eventually we will need the bee farmers. Not to mention the honey industry is failing as well due to things like CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder).
Drinking milk doesn't save the cow, eating eggs doesn't save the chicken. The bee is small, prone to disease and a bug. What do pesticides kill? Bugs. We're killing the bee. At least apiarists are supporting the bee. So yes, eating honey saves the bee as eating honey saves the apiarist.
"Honey is created by bees as a food source. In cold weather or when food sources are scarce, bees use their stored honey as their source of energy. By contriving for bee swarms to nest in artificial hives, people have been able to semi-domesticate the insects, and harvest excess honey. In the hive there are three types of bee: a single female queen bee, a seasonally variable number of male drone bees to fertilize new queens, and some 20,000 to 40,000 female worker bees. The worker bees raise larvae and collect the nectar that will become honey in the hive. Leaving the hive, they collect sugar-rich flower nectar and return. In the process, they release Nasonov pheromones. These pheromones lead other bees to rich nectar sites by "smell". Honeybees also release Nasonov pheromones at the entrance to the hive, which enables returning bees to return to the proper hive.
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 honeycomb cells. After the final regurgitation, the honeycomb is left unsealed. However, the nectar is still high in both water content and natural yeasts which, unchecked, would cause the sugars in the nectar to ferment. The process continues as bees inside the hive fan their wings, creating a strong draft across the honeycomb which enhances evaporation of much of the water from the nectar. This reduction in water content raises the sugar concentration and prevents fermentation."
Got the above from wikepedia. Although not the best source, it's a good start to learn just what honey is.
So you're saying that by controlling bees, we're saving them?
How exactly did bees survive without us humans?
they've been pollinating plants for longer than we have been controlling them.
Your logic makes no sense.
By being inhumane to the bees (aka, honey harvesting practices), we're killing them by the masses. Manipulating and killing them, not saving.
I dont think that the bee population will die out, agriculture as we know it couldnt survive without bees to pollinate. And bee farming isnt the way to keep them around.
Without the honey industry there would be bees in our world. The majority of the species of bees exist outside of the honey/pollination industry. One definite problem for bees, especially the native populations, is the spread of disease from international bee trade.
---> Managing risks in World Trade in bees and bee products
---> Why">http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/blogs/bees/australian-be... the U.S. Should Stop Importing Bees from Australia: Chapter and Verse On Imports, Off-shore Pollination and Averting a Collapse of U.S. Bees
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