I'm always frustrated with vegans who give up honey.
I'm going to try not to soapbox.
But it's not like meat. It's not even like milk or eggs, where we modified an animal to suit our needs and desires-- honeybees are evolutionarily wired all on their own to just make honey constantly beyond the needs of their colony. It's all they know how to do, and they do it until they run out of space. Human involvement allows them to do it more successfully, with less disease, less accidentally storing honey where there should be babies, less being eaten by bears. And it's mostly a plant product; all they do is process it and add a little enzyme. It's as vegan as, oh, fortified maple syrup-- except that natural experts are processing it, instead of fumbling, enterprising bipeds. ^_^
I will, however, totally endorse giving up Big Commercial Honey. Go local, support local farmers who love their bees. ^_^ (And if you only have big grocery stores to shop at, McLure's is the best of the giants-- I'm pretty sure they're the one who is actually more a distributor/repackager and buy from smaller farmers.)
There is no animal rights issue when it comes to raising bees-- domesticated bees are safe and happy bees.
Also, please do not become an irrational animal-rights-caring person, because I really can't stand them. Rational ones, sure, but irrational PETA sorts, or ALF sorts, piss me off like there's no tomorrow.
So anyway.
Keep your Iced Tea With Honey. Arizona probably uses Big Commercial honey, but that doesn't mean it's made by unhappy tortured captive bees. (In fact, bees that get trucked about and spend their entire lives in fields of flowers with very little winter are probably happier, in some ways, than bees who live in the same place all year.)
Also, rice milk, if you're avoiding soy, might work for your coffee. I have an aunt who preferred it. Or non-dairy creamer, if that works for you. (And for awesome factor, Cremora is also a major component of many small-to-medium movie explosion effects. Youtube will have examples.)
I have long considered it a testament to the importance of bacon in our society that vegan, kosher bacon is an easy-to-acquire product. Those cookies sound decadent.
no subject
I'm going to try not to soapbox.
But it's not like meat. It's not even like milk or eggs, where we modified an animal to suit our needs and desires-- honeybees are evolutionarily wired all on their own to just make honey constantly beyond the needs of their colony. It's all they know how to do, and they do it until they run out of space. Human involvement allows them to do it more successfully, with less disease, less accidentally storing honey where there should be babies, less being eaten by bears. And it's mostly a plant product; all they do is process it and add a little enzyme. It's as vegan as, oh, fortified maple syrup-- except that natural experts are processing it, instead of fumbling, enterprising bipeds. ^_^
I will, however, totally endorse giving up Big Commercial Honey. Go local, support local farmers who love their bees. ^_^ (And if you only have big grocery stores to shop at, McLure's is the best of the giants-- I'm pretty sure they're the one who is actually more a distributor/repackager and buy from smaller farmers.)
There is no animal rights issue when it comes to raising bees-- domesticated bees are safe and happy bees.
Also, please do not become an irrational animal-rights-caring person, because I really can't stand them. Rational ones, sure, but irrational PETA sorts, or ALF sorts, piss me off like there's no tomorrow.
So anyway.
Keep your Iced Tea With Honey. Arizona probably uses Big Commercial honey, but that doesn't mean it's made by unhappy tortured captive bees. (In fact, bees that get trucked about and spend their entire lives in fields of flowers with very little winter are probably happier, in some ways, than bees who live in the same place all year.)
Also, rice milk, if you're avoiding soy, might work for your coffee. I have an aunt who preferred it. Or non-dairy creamer, if that works for you. (And for awesome factor, Cremora is also a major component of many small-to-medium movie explosion effects. Youtube will have examples.)
I have long considered it a testament to the importance of bacon in our society that vegan, kosher bacon is an easy-to-acquire product. Those cookies sound decadent.