Guest guest Posted April 17, 2004 Report Share Posted April 17, 2004 I would figure this would come up a lot but didn't see it in the archives so i'll go ahead and ask: how do you guys feel about honey? Personally I'll eat honey but i still say i'm vegan, because it's a lot easier to use one word than to go into a long description of my dietary exemptions. I wouldn't want anyone to kill their hive, but my understanding is that most beekepers will leave enough to keep the hive going, otherwise it would be tough to have to start a new hive every year, but maybe i'm wrong. Is there factory farming among bees (i guess it seems like a natural beehive is a factory, with a bunch of specialized employees... hmm...)if so i wonder how common it is? Is the honey industry bad for the environment? It seems that with loss of habitat for many natural pollinators, having bees around might be a good thing, and it also seems that if you confine your bees they won't make honey, so they must be free to roam and do bee things. I know in Kansas, where i'm from, there was a scourge of mites that killed a lot of bees (wild and domestic) and now it's hard for a lot of the plants to get pollinated... but maybe the mites wouldn't have been so devastating if there hadn't been " domesticated " bees around. I am mostly vegan for health and environmental reasons, though it is very close with the animal issue, as i see my self as a very compassionate person (that is to say, i don't think that eating meat or other animal products is necessarily wrong, but factory farming and eating insane amounts of such products with no thought of the environment and no respect for the life of the animals is wrong). From my understanding, bees don't seem to suffer too terribly much from the honey industry, but again i may be wrong. I hear people saying " cows don't suffer from the dairy industry " and hope i'm not making a similar mistake. It seems that bees and other hive-type creatures have a very narrow view of what their life is all about, and i think that domesticated bees are still allowed to do what they want to do (although i don't know if the word " want " really applies to bees... but maybe so) but it may be arrogant for me to speculate as to what bees want or what they think. That's my inner biologist talking. Anyway, any thoughts about this? And please, don't be offended if i don't have my info straight, i'm not ragging on anyone about not eating honey, i get enough crap about my own diet to not put down other people's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 17, 2004 Report Share Posted April 17, 2004 Hi Josey > I would figure this would come up a lot but didn't see it in the > archives so i'll go ahead and ask: how do you guys feel about > honey? Personally I'll eat honey but i still say i'm vegan, because > it's a lot easier to use one word than to go into a long description > of my dietary exemptions. This is my particular bugbear.. honey comes from animals - therefore if you eat honey, you aren't vegan (much like, if you eat fish, you aren't vegetarian). My main issue with people saying that they are vegan but they eat honey is this... when I go into a restaraunt and ask them to provide me a vegan meal, I want there to be no doubt in their minds what that means. If a week before someone has gone into that same restaurant and told them they are vegan, then ordered something with honey, that resraurant will think it's OK to give me (or any other vegan) something with honey. I'm not taking any shots at your choice of diet, just asking that you don't confuse the non vegan community by using the term " vegan " incorrectly. I would suggest it would be far better to call yourself a vegetarian who doesn't consume dairy. > I wouldn't want anyone to kill their hive, > but my understanding is that most beekepers will leave enough to keep > the hive going, otherwise it would be tough to have to start a new > hive every year, but maybe i'm wrong. Is there factory farming among > bees (i guess it seems like a natural beehive is a factory, with a > bunch of specialized employees... hmm...)if so i wonder how common it > is? As with all farming, bee farming is done for profit, so the vast majority is factory farming. I'd suggesting reading the material on the Vegan Society web pages about the cruelty involved in honey production. BB Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 17, 2004 Report Share Posted April 17, 2004 Hi Josey Honey is not vegan because it is an animal product. The bees are farmed like other farm animals. Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 18, 2004 Report Share Posted April 18, 2004 Hi Josey I would figure this would come up a lot but didn't see it in the archives so i'll go ahead and ask: how do you guys feel about honey? Personally I'll eat honey but i still say i'm vegan, because it's a lot easier to use one word than to go into a long description of my dietary exemptions. Honey is not classified as vegan according to the Vegan Society ( many syrups are). Also that many people (mainly in north and south American) have been attacked and killed through bee farming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 Also that many people (mainly in north and south American) have beenattacked and killed through bee farming. some of whom were bees. ~~brii >"simonpjones" <simonpjones > > >Re: The honey issue... >Sun, 18 Apr 2004 19:54:52 +0100 > > > Hi Josey > > I would figure this would come up a lot but didn't see it in the > archives so i'll go ahead and ask: how do you guys feel about > honey? Personally I'll eat honey but i still say i'm vegan, because > it's a lot easier to use one word than to go into a long description > of my dietary exemptions. > >Honey is not classified as vegan according to the Vegan Society ( many >syrups are). >Also that many people (mainly in north and south American) have been >attacked and killed through bee farming. > > Stop worrying about overloading your inbox - get MSN Hotmail Extra Storage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 - fartybriivismeisteranushead ta-da! Monday, April 19, 2004 8:45 PM Re: The honey issue... Also that many people (mainly in north and south American) have beenattacked and killed through bee farming. some of whom were bees. ~~brii> And other animals> >"simonpjones" <simonpjones > > >Re: The honey issue... >Sun, 18 Apr 2004 19:54:52 +0100 > > > Hi Josey > > I would figure this would come up a lot but didn't see it in the > archives so i'll go ahead and ask: how do you guys feel about > honey? Personally I'll eat honey but i still say i'm vegan, because > it's a lot easier to use one word than to go into a long description > of my dietary exemptions. > >Honey is not classified as vegan according to the Vegan Society ( many >syrups are). >Also that many people (mainly in north and south American) have been >attacked and killed through bee farming. > > Stop worrying about overloading your inbox - get MSN Hotmail Extra Storage! To send an email to - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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