This evening my eldest son Ari made Chai. Then he asked me if I wanted some honey with it. So I said ” No, Ari I am not taking honey.Bees are animals.” His answer was ” Mummy you are taking the vegan stuff way too far. Bees are fine and honey is good for you.” When he said that for a moment it felt like listening to myself-it is amazing how important is what we teach our children. This inspire me to write a post about why vegans won’t eat honey. Above all I am very grateful that my sons have open minds and listen to me . So I decided to look deeper into the honey dilemma. To be honest I am still “on the fence” regarding eating or not honey . Here are the 3 main points
1. Honey is an animal product, produced when bees digest nectar they have collected and then regurgitate it. It is an animal product, just like an egg or milk.On the other hand another research said , that honey is not swallowed by bees and then regurgitated. Rather they have a second stomach (analogous to a marsupial pouch) that does not digest the flower nectar at all, but only stores it while it is being gathered. This sack will hold about as much honey weight as the bee weighs!
2.According to Daniel Hammer, bees do experience pain and suffering while they are being exploited for their products (not just honey but also beeswax, royal jelly, and more).On the other hand the healing power of raw honey is well documented.Honey contains an abundance of vitamins and minerals and is a natural and powerful medicine, both internally and externally.
3.There is simply no way beekeepers, humane or otherwise, can avoid harming or killing bees while they are extracting the bees’ products .
In the mean time I am not eating any honey, unless it is the only natural antibiotic available, that can save my life. I believe, that if you want you can always find another way. Natural alternative medicine offers many options with little or practically no side effects.
Sending blessings and love
P.S This is day 62 of Word press Challenge to make a post every day. There are 170 days left of 2012.
