so nice of you to post the link: http://hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31471 see also the FAQ sticky http://hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58351 Distinctions in the veggie world: The most common tags to describe various vegetarian diets are: lacto-ovo (consumes milk and eggs), Lacto- (milk, no eggs), Ovo- (eggs, no milk), vegan (no animal or insect byproducts, usually including honey). Sub divisions include but are not limited to: fruitarian (only eats regenerative parts of a plant: seeds, fruit, some harvested leaves) raw vegan (food is never heated above 160 F) People pursuing the veggie diet who still eat fish, poultry or any other flesh are still omnivores. We support your journey, but we might not teach you the secret handshake.
ah sorry about the twin thread then. thanks for the links. i am a vegetarian, but i could never be a vegan I just don't have the will power.
Greetings, I'm vegan, let me answer your question. One of the most popular reasons for becoming vegan is to boycott goods that have animal products in them because the companies mistreat their animals. Since cows, chickens, etc. are all so poorly treated, and then harvested for their flesh and meat, vegans don't even support eating the eggs or milk from these animals (at least not ones that are commercially produced), since even those processes are detrimental to the animals. Honey is also an animal product. However ... honey is one of the few (if it's not the only) animal products that really just doesn't leave any room for abuse by companies. Bees are not genetically modified, they are not given steroids or similar substances in order to make them produce more honey, and the honey is kept in a pure form. Beekeepers just tend to let the bees do their thing (particularly since bees have stingers, and they hurt!), and then just harvest the honey that is caked onto their hives/combs. As a vegan, I do still eat honey. I don't see a point in fighting for bees rights, because bees rights are not really being infringed upon. My roommate (who is also vegan) also eats honey, and his sister (who is ALSO vegan) also eats honey, at least, I think she does. Not completely sure. Anywho, I hope that answers your question. Some vegans do, some vegans don't. It's really just a matter of personal preference ... more likely, it has to do with "boycott animal products" or "boycott companies that mistreat animals." I'm with the latter, some vegans are of the former.
i really don't think there is anyone who is a real vegan (in the western world) it is more a goal to be obtained. in a textbook case, vegans shouldn't eat honey, but most vegans which i know do and i did when i tried being vegan.
I'm not sure that it's really even possible to be perfectly vegan, at least not in the Western world. Somewhere along the line, you're going to be unaware of some kind of animal ingredient that gets into your food. I think the best anyone can really do is to learn what they can and try their best to avoid animal products, because the world is already so screwed up that we can't be completely vegan. It's a shame, but ... meh. It's the best we can do. Anything beyond that isn't our fault.
I think for those who try, but perhaps come across a animal biproduct, unintentionally, at least they try. For myself I do what I can to avoid, however, it would not be the end of the world, I am not showing support to them. As for the honey, I have recently made transition from vegetarian to vegan, and have recently cut it out of my diet. (Strangely I find pure maple syrup is a nice substitute in some cases) However vegans having honey. I do not think it honestly makes one honestly less vegan. Yes it is a bi-product, but as mentioned, it is not as though they are tortured/drugged. For those who are vegan for environmental purposes, bee farming, requires much less energy, and land (too my understanding) than other 'traditional' farms. The fact I know a local bee farmer makes it 10 times harder to give up that honey... I personally think that for one to say a honey eater is not vegan, is simply turning to the "More Vegan than Thou" ...
I don't eat honey. I saw a website once about how honey is made and often it is not a pretty picture. Ususally, like commercial meat farming the animals are not taken care of with much attention as the company is producing the maximum quantity they can. Lots of bees actually have to die to bring you that honey. Commercial behives are transported on 18 wheelers to pollinate diffrent fields and after every journey many bees are dead. They also kill the queen bee when she gets older and the hive begins producing less honey, so much like a dairy cow the useless queen is killed. The honey industry is just another example of humans' exerting control over animals and I don't support it.
So are you like a level five vegan, nothing w\ a shadow? j\k though I really respect that you can hold with your convictions, and thanks for informing us, that's really very interesting.
