"Bad" Honey

[EricP]

Hello All,

Does anyone know of a web page that specifically lists the negative health impacts of honey?

I'm becoming extremely frustrated with my wife constantly suggesting that we introduce honey. She is Vegan, but I want to put an end to this "honey infatuation".

Please help... :(

Regards,

EricP

[Erin Pavlina]

Most people are opposed to the use of honey for ethical reasons. As for negative health effects, I guess it's a simple sugar and therefore of no nutritional benefit. That's just my guess though.

Better choices for sweeteners are maple syrup, date sugar, brown rice syrup, and barley malt.

[EricP]

Thanks Erin,

I know that there are health "risks" to eating honey (ie. spores), but I wanted to collect all of the risks in one document.

Convincing my wife not to consider honey will only work with fact.

Regards,

EricP

[molly]

Not a web page, but... there is a book called The Vegan Handbook, of which the first half is general information & the second is recipes. There are explanations & definitions & reasons for all things vegan in that book, & I would recommend it to anyone looking for answers (or for the proper phrasing of answers you already know in your heart). I have just turned my house upside down trying to find the book & have failed, but if you can find it in a bookstore where you live I am 99% certain you will find a thorough discussion of honey in it.

[Lucy S]

I know there is a botulism concern for babies under one. I don't know if you'd find what you are looking for at these sites, but I'd have a look at www.vrg.org and/or www.vegweb.com.

[EricP]

Thanks Lucy,

I found an article from Peta that close to what I was looking for.

Take care,

EricP

[Lucy S]

Good. Hope it does the trick!

I wouldn't consider adding honey to my diet, but I can sometimes see the temptation. So many products are so close to being vegan, but they just *have* to use honey as the sweetener. So frustrating, given that there are so many other choices.

[EricP]

I hate it when companies try to justify their use of honey in their products.

Take this justification for including honey which was borrowed from the FAQ of the Kiss My Face site:

"There are a few people who feel that we are being deceitful by stating "no animal ingredients". The bee neither dies nor suffers in providing us with its honey, and the bee's by-product quite frankly is not the "animal" we had in mind while making our "no animal ingredients" statement. "

I think the comment "providing us with it's honey" is quite ignorant, and runs along the same lines as cows "giving" us their milk.

Also, the line: "the bee's by-products quite frankly is not the "animal" we had in mind while making our "no animal ingredients" statement ", is also a very poor answer. Does Kiss My Face also believe that? Animal ingredients include animal by-products... HONEY is an animal ingredient. Maybe someone should inform them on how honey is made.

Don't get me wrong, Kiss My Face has some very good vegan products in their lineup, but the inclusion of honey really hurts their image in the end. I hope they can see this.

Regards,

EricP

[Lucy S]

I agree. I like Kiss My Face product (the vegan ones), but wish they didn't use honey in any of their products. I think, quite frankly, that it is because bees are an insect. They are not considered as important as cows, for example, or thought to have feelings, so it is okay to exploit them. It is the same artificial, divisive thinking that makes it okay, to some, to eat fish, but not cows, or cows but not gorillas, or gorillas but not humans. (And, I feel compelled to add, that makes it okay to discriminate against other people - the good old "us versus them" thinking, with "us" being more worthy/better, thus it is okay to exploit "them".)

And for the record, the bees DO suffer. But, we already know that, don't we?

[EricP]

Well said Lucy...

I think using honey in your products is like eating an apple with an "insect glaze" (Yes, those glossy apples have bug juice all over them). I will not eat coated fruits and I will not use honey.

Yes, insects are not mammals, but that doesn't give people the right to intentionally harm them. TV shows like "Fear Factor" don't understand this concept when they have people eat live insects.

[Blinky]

I'm glad I'm not eating at the moment. Gross! :)