Quote:
Originally Posted by jfalconer  Would it be fair to go as far as saying honey is a plant product (made from pollen) that's really just manufactured by bees? Not containing their flesh or body fluids? |
No. It's bee puke. Sorry.
Convert-happy-vegan knee-jerk reply:
Technically, they invest a lot of time and energy into making honey. The hive needs this honey to survive the winter months. They aren't working for us, you know. They exist for their own resons.
On the other paw...
Level-headed economist reply:
Now, you might postulate that bee-keepers enter into a bargin with the bees: I'll keep you up for the winter if you give me your honey. It's the same sort of bargin that we make with house-pets (and I'll try to eschew the anthropomorphim, even though I
know my kitty speaks {nay, invented} English) : I'll provide food and shelter if you agree to hang around and let me pet on your soft, luxy fur.
Plus, bees don't have to die to produce honey, so there is some room for dickering with the relative "veganism" of honey. It depends on how you define "vegan." Most vegans agree that any product that involves animals in its manufacture is not suitable for vegans to consume. However, bugs die in the combine when my father reaps wheat, so is wheat vegan? Something to chew on.