I am trying to go vegan and have a question -- & please pardon my ignorance as I am new to this. Asside from the fact that it's made by bees, why don't vegans like honey? Are the bees mistreated? Or are they killed after the honey is harvested? I figured bees were good for the environment w/pollenation and all. Enlighten me. :)

What a lot of people don't realize: Honey is bees' food. It's sort of like, if you worked all night for your dinner, and then someone stole it and gave you a sugar-syrup instead. Not so groovy. And yes, some bees are inevitably killed in the process of harvesting honey.

Though I've heard arguments from all sides: Eco-concerns regarding pollination and the support of organic honey. How avoiding honey just makes vegans seem insane and hurts the movement.

Evaluate the situation for yourself.

I agree with Charity about how honey is Bee's food not for human and like how people would argue that a cow's milk is for their own and not human.

Consuming honey is the person's choice. There are some people who do consume honey and yet consider themselves as vegan.

in bee farms, harvesters take away the honey that the bees produce for themselves and replace it with sugar water. many bees are also injured & killed in the process. bees are great for the environment, but theyre animast who should be left to live in the wild. heres the link that enlightned me http://www.vegetus.org/honey/honey.htm ive found it really hard to avoid honey though not cause i want it, but because it is in so many healthy products that sometimes i eat it through lack of choice, but i try not to, and feel guilty when i do...its kind of like drinking milk...

Since honey is in so many vegetarian products, and so many of us are limited in our choices of premade products (breads, veggieburgers, crackers, pizzas), we should write the companies that are otherwise so good about making almost vegan products available. For example, the texture of Rudi's HONEYsweet Whole Wheat is perfect. I must settle for the Colorado Cracked Wheat, which is courser. But people who don't even have a good HFS nearby have to decide whether honey or whey is the lesser evil. Of course, purchasing a breadmaker is the solution here. ;)

But there are plenty of other products which would be a royal pain to make ourselves, so writing the manufacturers is a good idea.

So is it OK to call someone "Honey", even if I'm vegan? ;)

So is it OK to call someone "Honey", even if I'm vegan? ;)

As sweet as your lips are, I should be calling you "honey", and you're a vegan.

(*gets locked in a long kiss, yet hands honey-addicts a container of agave nectar.*)

There they go again!

Awwww :love: Ain't love grand. :bobo:

Awwww.... :smitten:

(we're growing on you Amy... you didn't even tell us to get a room this time...)

Geez! Warn a person before doing something like that!! :)

Disclaimer: If you see Froggy and Tofu in the same thread, you're in potential danger of seeing a smooch take place.

im jealous.

Awwww...

OK, back on topic since we've effectively hijacked this thread...

Does brown rice syrup work as a honey substitute?
I can't find agave nectar ANYwhere... actually, in baking the last few times, I've used plain ol' light corn syrup (which isn't the greatest choice, I realize, but it's what I had...) and it seemed to work fine...

I've just noticed people here mostly suggesting agave nectar and wondered if there was a specific reason?

It's supposed to be closest in actual taste to honey. It's not nearly as thick, though.

I was thinking about buying some agave nectar last time I was at the HFS but I didn't have a recipe to use it it. It looked just like honey though. I wonder if it gets hard like honey does. (my parent's honey does, idk if everyone's does)

And why oh why do they put honey in like every wheat bread?

And why oh why do they put honey in like every wheat bread?
OT.. you just live in the wrong country

And why oh why do they put honey in like every wheat bread?

Back when I used to bake more bread than I have time to do now.... and when I was NOT vegan - I recall that honey was really great for keeping the bread moist - much more so than molasses or other sorts of things...

I would venture to guess this is why it's popular in bread - that and the whole "Honey sounds so Wholesome and so it must appeal to Health-Food-Nuts" theory...