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The true, clear cut answer, in my book, is no. A vegan, defined by numerous websites, health books and people is considered a person who does not eat ANY thing that has any type of animal or animal by-product in it; vegans do not believe in eating anything that has caused an animal pain and suffering.
So why is honey such an age old debate? Many vegans who eat honey say things like "the bees aren't killed or harmed in any way when they extract and make the honey." This statement is the furthest from the truth. Bees have a central nervous system, just like humans and other animals, which allows them to feel pain. According to Friends of Animals' website,
"At peak honey-production time in 2003, an estimated 155 billion bees, from 2.59 million colonies, were exploited in the U.S. to produce honey for human consumption. Honey, beeswax, bee pollen, royal jelly, propolis and venom are taken from bees for human uses. In the process of acquiring these, beekeepers regularly disturb the bees’ homes by removing the honeycombs from the hive. When this is done some bees will inevitable be injured or crushed, and any bees who sting the beekeepers will also die."
When any animal dies, it experiences pain. Saying that honey is vegan is saying that milk is vegan; it's about the same wrong idea. Some websites, such as vegan.org say it is up to the individual. That is true, but if you are going to be a vegan, wouldn't you want to give up everything and not just a few items?
Vegan.org's website answers the question by saying:
"Again, it depends on one's definition of vegan. Insects are animals, and so insect products, such as honey and silk, are not traditionally considered vegan. Many vegans, however, are not opposed to using insect products, because they do not believe insects are conscious of pain. Moreover, even if insects were conscious of pain, it's not clear that the production of honey involves any more pain for insects than the production of most vegetables, since the harvesting and transportation of all vegetables involves many 'collateral' insect deaths."
Personally, none of us would like there to be any insect deaths in the harvesting of plants, but this has nothing to do with bees making honey. While the harvesting of vegetables does involve some bug deaths, these are accidental. Check out this wonderful link that a reader, Rob provided for us: Vegan Organic Network.
A vegan friend of mine of mine once said to me, "Not eating honey is just like not eating plants; plants feel pain too." To me, comparing bees suffering to that of vegetables is making an absolutely absurd statement. There is no reason for plants to feel pain, where as a living, breathing animal unfortunately feels the pain and suffering that humans are forcing upon it.
Honey is just like an egg: An animal product! Upon further research into this topic, I found that some manufacturers of natural products, such as Tom's, use honey and beeswax in their products but claim to be animal free. To see for yourself, the direct link to Tom's of Maine's website is here.
Being a vegan means that I will not put anything near my mouth that is any part of an animal. I refuse to buy or use products that have been tested on animals or have an animal byproduct in them. If you use alternatives for everything else except honey, I highly suggest you think about using an alternative to honey. One delicious honey replacement is Rice Nectar, which you can buy online at The Vegan Store. It can also be found at Whole Foods, along with another replacement called agave nectar.
Comments
Yes, honey is not vegan - the production of it both causes suffering and is exploitative, and is also unnecessary. So why not just avoid it, not so difficult?
BTW, I think you've misunderstood the statement on vegan.org. They are not suggesting that plants feel pain, they are only pointing out that there will be many insect deaths during the growing and harvesting of plants (because such operations tend to be done on a large industrial scale anyway). In my mind that is one stage removed from the deliberate use of animals to make products for humans. I also think that many vegans would like to see a system of food production that caused no damage at all, but realise we have to be a little realistic. If you're interested in animal-free farming (i.e no manure, blood, bone, hoof or fish) check out the Vegan-Organic Network. Another option is to grow your own and harvest everything by hand.
Bees make honey for their young, not for humans! Taking it is theft!
Rob,
You are completely right. I meant to add another quote from a vegan who said that plants feel pain too.. I will fix it. And thank you for your support on the topic. It is very ignorant, in my opinion, to eat honey but consider yourself a vegan.
Eating honey may not be Vegan. However, it does have a positive impact
1. Without beekeepers, European honey bees would vanish. Feral hives have nearly completely disappeared in the US because of environmental degradation.
2. Without beekeepers keeping honey bees, who would polinate all those fruits and veggies?
As an ethical vegan, I don't feel I have the right to take anything from any sentient being (not do I have the need). And in his new book, "The Face on Your Plate," Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson shares some interesting facts about honey.
First, Jains don't eat honey because bees make it for themselves, so "when we take their honey, we are engaging in theft." This is common sense, but most people don't think about it, the way they don't see the harm in taking milk from cows, despite that it is intended for their calves, not us, and that those calves end up victims of the veal industry.
And "the large honey producers, the factory bee farms, often kill off the bees in winter because it is cheaper to replace them in spring than to feed them and keep them disease-free over the cold months." So as with egg-laying hens and dairy cows, bees are slaughtered when they are no longer "useful."
Honey is an animal product: It is not meant for us, nor is its "production" free from causing suffe
Honey Ain't So Sweet for the Bees
tinyurl[DOT]com/qpkvpd
A Vegan Society leaflet explaining the cruelty to bees involved in the production of honey
I'm glad to see the insect world being treated with the same respect as the bovines. Unfortunately, unless you live off home-grown veggies entirely, you've already done irreparable harm since pesticides used in virtually all farm-raised produce.
Remember when enjoying those vegetarian meals how pesticides affect crop insects:
BTs rupture cells in the stomach lining of insects, causing them to ‘bleed’ to death internally.
IGRs prevent insects from properly molting, a natural and necessary process in their complex life cycle, causing them to suffocate inside their own shells.
Synthetic pyrethroids cause insects to suffer the equivalent of Grand Mal seizures from which they can’t recover.
Not to mention the auxiliary damage done to wildlife. Ooops, guess I did mention it.
I know, I know, ye hypocrites. Go organic. Organic farms, which may still use pesticides, represent less than 1% of world farmland.
Pass the burgers, please.
Bears steal honey. WE SHOULD KILL ALL THE NO-GOOD BEARS!
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