Honey
Posted by Allychristine on Jul 21, 2008 · Member since Dec 2007 · 15438 posts
Eating honey is not vegan.
Discuss.
I know this has been talked about many a time on VW, but I would like to be involved in the discussion. If you aren't interested in debating if/why/etc. eating honey is not/is vegan, then don't post!
Quoted from: wikianswers
..The main vitamins found in honey are: A1, B1, B6, B12, C, D, E, folic acid, etc.
It's important to review this statement in it's entirety. . .
VITAMINS:
Honey is rather low in vitamin content. However, we cannot ignore them since they help the human body absorb the sugars in honey. The main vitamins found in honey are: A1, B1, B6, B12, C, D, E, folic acid, etc.
While honey may contain those vitamins they are in negligible amounts.
Is agave nectar hard to get in NZ? It is available in all the major markets here in California but it is just within the last year that it has really gained popularity. It has a high glycemic index so it is absorbed slowly into the body. You don't get spikes in your blood sugar or the sugar highs and lows. It is also 25% sweeter than sugar. I never noticed any unpleasant smell. It smells sort of like honey to me. ;)b
Pretty hard to get and madly expensive. Or maybe I just don't know where to shop. But it's definitely not available at supermarkets, and I've never seen it in a health food shop either. I've seen it advertised online for like, $13 for a 300ml bottle.
Haha, I know it smells good, I just thought it was funny that someone thought it smelled like sunscreen!
I've seen it advertised online for like, $13 for a 300ml bottle.
Haha, I know it smells good, I just thought it was funny that someone thought it smelled like sunscreen!
I pay about 5 1/2 dollars for a 23.5 oz bottle and there are several organic varieties available. You can get agave nectar or 100% blue agave nectar. I don't know what the difference would be but for a tequila to be called "premium" it has to be made from 100% blue agave.
yeah, I guess it's just that mexico is a lot further away from here than it is from the states, so... no cheap imports for us.
How about this stuff?
Xagave
http://www.xagave.com/
A Premium Blend of Agave Nectar derived from organic Agave Salmiana (White Agave) and organic inulin from Agave Tequilana (Blue Agave).
I searched the forums for any comments or reviews.. Found nothing.
http://www.xagave.com/images/Nutritional-Info.jpghttp://www.xagave.com/images/usda-organic_logo.gif
Seems reasonably priced..
http://www.xagave.com/images/small/25ozMd.jpg $8.99 - Single 25oz Bottle
http://www.xagave.com/images/small/50ozMd.jpg $15.99 - Single 50oz Bottle
http://www.xagave.com/images/small/GallonMd.jpg $42.99 - 1 U.S. Gallon
4-packs available on all of the above, and 12-packs available on the 25oz and 50oz bottles.
Has anyone tried this stuff in particular? Seems to be a pretty safe bet.
i haven't tried that brand... i always get Madhava Agave Nectar the light colored variety 23.5 oz... i think it is like $5 where i live
Most honey bought in stores is processed. I not sure if it would have much nutrients left. My main sweetner/oatmeal topper is blackstrap molasses. It is very strong stuff but is very nutritious. There is about 20% DV for iron and calcium in each TB and quite a bit of potassium.
For a honey substitute in recipes, I prefer brown rice syrup. Its the same cost as agave nector and made not too far away from me. BRS has a more caramelly, richer flavor that agave nector lacks. It also breaks down much slower in your system than honey. Ther is also malt barley syrup and carob molasses for those that like amber honey.
I understand all sides of this debate.
Honey is not something that was a part of my life anyway. But I will sadly say I am a vegan that just lets honey slide sometime. The last time I ate honey was in a pre-mixed granola from Whole Foods. It was the low fat one from the bulk aisle. But normally, no I don't eat honey and avoid buying products with honey. After reading this forum I am leaning more towards never even considering it.
I hope you don't all hate me now! :(
As you say "Honey" is not a vegan food. But I have seen various product in market that contain honey still sold by retailer saying its a vegan food. There are various stuff like chocolates,Fortune Cookies and many many more other products. If they are not a vegan food then why they are not getting?
Is there any way to have honey free stuff which is not highlighted in ingredients?
Do you have examples of packaged "vegan" food that contains honey? Honestly, I've never seen chocolate that contains honey or "vegan" labeled food with honey in the ingredients and I've been reading packages for years. (I couldn't find a "vegan" fortune cookie on the link - at which point I suspected you were a spammer, until I read your previous posts.)
off topic.....but when Sainsbury's (major UK supermarket) first introduced a 'suitable for vegans' logo for their foods I got all excited when I saw some cheese sandwich biscuits (crackers with cheesy filling) with the suitable for vegans logo, as I had loved them pre-vegan days. Yeah when I checked the ingredients they obviously contained cheese.
I complained and I think they were withdrawn as I never saw them again with the vegan logo on.
So maybe there are some products that are labelled as vegan that contain honey. If it can happen with cheese it can happen with honey!
off topic but on Shell's topic - we were so disturbed to see some bacon crackers/snack thing in Sainsbury's with the vegan logo, and checking the ingredients found that they were in fact, vegan. Only fake piggy flavours! There's no way I would eat something that tasted/smelled like bacon, no matter how vegan it was, but it amused us all the same.
I think a few years ago I saw something like that - labeled vegan but contained honey... it was some sort of lotion by Kiss My Face or Alba or somebody like that. I don't think it's that companies would consider the ingredient, and decide that philosophically/environmentally/whatever, honey is vegan, but they just didn't even think honey = animal product at all. The dining commons at my college started labeling the vegan items at one point, and initially they neglected honey (but it was the same thing, it never crossed the chef's mind. I pointed out, and there was no more "vegan" honey stuff).
On the other hand, we have companies who are reluctant to label their products vegan because they don't know the origin of certain ingredients. Which is nice that they're aware, but most vegans I personally know just let the iffy things like mono- and di-glycerides slide. But yeah, a company wouldn't want to label such a product vegan if they don't really know, just like calling a product gluten-free when you really have no idea (it's risky). When TJs started their sloooow process of adding the vegan label, several customers were confused about why _____ wasn't labeled vegan when it clearly was. TJs was being extra careful and verifying manufacturing stuff/etc, which means that even now, 2 years after I stopped working there, they *still* don't have all their vegan things labeled. They just recently seemed to figure out their sugar sources, haha. Anyway, sometimes companies jump the gun and don't realize D3 isn't vegan, and other times it means only vegetables are labeled vegan. Oh well... I read the ingredients of "vegan" things anyway.
A while ago, I purchased some lip balm that was labeled vegan, AND I read the ingredients (but missed it?)..and it contained beeswax. ..doesn't make vegan just because it's labeled as such..sadly
lame. what would cause them to label it as vegan if it's got beeswax? Like, what other lip balm type of ingredient could they had left out?
A while ago, I purchased some lip balm that was labeled vegan, AND I read the ingredients (but missed it?)..and it contained beeswax. ..doesn't make vegan just because it's labeled as such..sadly
That is seriously fucked up! I wish these companies would get in trouble for this shit!
Yeah, it was weird. It was Alba brand. The Hawaiian stuff.
To me, the issue of using bees for honey has to do with my anger towards humans thinking they have the right to exploit every freakin thing on the planet....the bees make honey for their own purposes. Humankind just thinks they have the right to take advantage of anything that they can get their hands on and then abuse the hell out of it...arg...
When trying to make decisions about whether something is "vegan" or ethical, I just try to ask myself whether the product was intended for me or intended for someone else (a bee's hive, a cow's calf, etc). I think what you said is a good way to keep our ethics in mind and not get bogged down by "fine lines" and this and that. Make as little impact as possible.
Lately I've noticed some Clifbars with honey in them.
this made me super sad because I honestly thought they produced vegan foods and it makes me sad to know that some nonvegans will buy the honey kinds, as opposed to the ones without honey.
Lately I've noticed some Clifbars with honey in them.
this made me super sad because I honestly thought they produced vegan foods and it makes me sad to know that some nonvegans will buy the honey kinds, as opposed to the ones without honey.
I am shocked by this, and I often eat Clif bars after runs. I always have at least half a dozen around. I need to check labels!! Thank you.
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