Miami Vegan Blog
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Flexitarians, Vegans and Honey, Oh My!
Since I made the sacrifice to not consume meat or dairy in over 5 years, I don't feel like applauding people who are too weak to make the same sacrifice. When my vegan friends tell me they eat honey and occasionally consume dairy, it makes me cringe. They are impostors but I'm not going to pull the plug on them. I do want to take their vegan card away though.
It's just like the "light green" concept John Mayer proposed. It's bullshit. I know I'm an extreme, Type A personality that is punctual, makes lists, is obsessed with time, mine and others ... I just don't get the half-assed concept. Someone called me militant the other day, without even meeting me. Ok! I might appear that way because I am a no nonsense kind of person. Being vegan is hard, its not for everyone. Just like being a good person is hard, some people have too much evil inside to contend with.
Anyway, read this article I found today. I don't agree with everything he says, but its informative to say the least, even if he is on the other side it seems. Here is an excellent explanation as to why I refuse to eat honey. Decide for yourself:
Old-guard vegans have no patience for this sort of equivocation: Animal products are off-limits, period. Indeed, the first Vegan Society was created in 1944 to counter the detestable, flexitarian tendencies of early animal rights activists. Founder Donald Watson called their namby-pamby lacto-vegetarianism "a halfway house between flesh-eating and a truly human, civilized diet" and implored his followers to join him in making the "full journey." That journey, as the society has since defined it, takes no uncertain position on honey—it's summarily banned, along with bee pollen, bee venom, propolis, and royal jelly.
The hard-liners argue that beekeeping, like dairy farming, is cruel and exploitative. The bees are forced to construct their honeycombs in racks of removable trays, according to a design that standardizes the size of each hexagonal chamber. (Some say the more chaotic combs found in the wild are less vulnerable to parasitic mites.) Queens are imprisoned in certain parts of the hive, while colonies are split to increase production and sprinkled with prophylactic antibiotics. In the meantime, keepers control the animals by pumping their hives full of smoke, which masks the scent of their alarm pheromones and keeps them from defending their honey stores. And some say the bees aren't making the honey for us, so its removal from the hive could be construed as a form of theft. (Last year's animated feature, Bee Movie, imagined the legal implications of this idea.)
So, any vegan who eats honey but avoids milk is making the tacit assumption that the pain experienced by a bee counts for something less than the pain experienced by a cow. It's exactly the sort of compromise that so appalled Watson and the early vegans. Once you've allowed yourself to equivocate on animal suffering, how do you handle all the other borderline cases of insect exploitation? What about silkworms and cochineal bugs? Come to think of it, does a bee feel any less pain than a scallop or an oyster? Why can't we eat them, too?
[Source]
bravenet.com
6 Comments:
Get over yourself! I've been a vegan, a strict vegan, for more than 8 years now. And I do what I do for my own personal reasons. Because it is a lifestyle I am comfortable with. I don't put my shit on other people and I don't expect them to put theirs on me. So people want to eat meat or dairy from time to time, just because I don't agree, just because it's not something I would do, doesn't mean it's wrong. For someone living a compasionate lifestyle, you sure do sound hypocritical and judgemental.
A person that doesn't eat meat or dairy "for their own personal reasons" is absolutely clueless about the state of animals. There are passive vegans and active vegans. I'm an active vegan, and I know by just making sure I'm a vegan, isn't going to put a dent in the crisis. I'm happy you're vegan, which is why I won't tear you a new one, but become more active, become an activist, do some flyering, support organizations, tell people about veganism, spread the word, it's an Earth issue. Just saving yourself, won't save the Planet.
This post has been removed by the author.
What I love about having a blog is that I can always point to my "description" - it clearly says and I quote, "I'm not perfect but who the hell is," and "Don't take any of it too seriously." (See Left side of screen)
That being said, I do love the fact that this post has ridden up people's tail pipe, because at least I've struck a nerve.
Think about it, who would get upset at my post, other than the people I'm talking about in it.
My work here is done ...
You are mildly retarded
I'm not saying this because I'm offended by what you've said or because you've "struck a nerve", I'm just concerned for your mental health. I can't see how someone who clearly has put themselves on an intellectual activist pedestal can be so close minded... it's really hypocritical and just pathetic.
So, in other words, you're offended. ;-)
Post a Comment
<< Home