Joanne Colan “Dean Of Invention” Learned How Honey Wasn’t Vegan
Written by Vegetarian Star on October 21st, 2010 in Food & Drink, Journalists, Tech.
Joanne Colan is a correspondent for Dean of Invention, a Planet Green series that follows Dean Kamen, who generated ideas such as Segway, the insulin pump and the robotic prosthetic called the “Luke Arm” as he unveils the latest discoveries and advancements in technologies.
Colan herself takes advantage of the advancements in the availability of nutritious, vegetarian food as she travels frequently and must make use of what’s available on the road. Although she doesn’t consume meat or dairy, Colan doesn’t consider herself a true vegan, as she consumes honey.
From an exclusive interview with This Dish Is Vegetarian:
“Because her mother kept bees, my Mum (who lives in sw France) also kept bees for a little while. They were all “rescue bees” encouraged to relocate to a hive from someone’s windowsill or chimney and avoid extermination. Anyway that’s another story altogether. To harvest the honey, my mum would spin the frames in an extractor. I learned this apparently doesn’t filter the honey much.”
Colan gives evidence that consuming honey is not that innocent, as she sometimes found bee body parts in the mixture.
“When spreading the cloudy golden elixir on her homemade bread, I’d occasionally come across the odd wing or bit of black and yellow fuzz. I never actually ate any bee body parts. I would carefully put them back into the jar from whence they came. You tend to earn an enormous amount of respect for bees when you see them to-ing and fro-ing from the hive toiling day and night. Putting your ear to a hive and hearing a low almost inaudible hum is quite something. And so eating their honey fills you with awe and admiration. But vegan does it make you not.”
This adds greatly to the argument if whether or not vegans can eat honey. Harvesting plants surely kills bugs and who hasn’t found a lady bug or two in their carton of organic strawberries. But is purposely using bees for their product a violation of vegan principles?
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October 21st, 2010 at 4:04 pm
I consider myself a vegan who occasionally eats or drinks something with honey, just because it’s the only option (like honey just happens to be an ingredient) or I felt that it wasn’t a big enough deal. Hearing that though makes me think twice about those purchases. 🙁
October 22nd, 2010 at 8:58 pm
“But is purposely using bees for their product a violation of vegan principles?”
Absolutely. It’s animal exploitation, pure and simple, and vegans by definition try not to intentionally and unnecessarily contribute to animal exploitation.
The Vegan Society (aka the founders of veganism) define veganism as follows:
“Veganism is a way of living that seeks to exclude, as far as possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing and any other purpose.”
And here’s an expanded definition from 1951 that specifically mentions honey:
http://veganmeans.com/vegan_who/VEGANISM_DEFINED.htm