VEGANISM: It’s FOR the Bees! Literally!
Okay so the bees have it! Their honey that is. And we shouldn’t take that away from them. We especially shouldn’t “keep them” under bad conditions or, as I have seen it referred to, in slavery. Still, I’m not sure I completely understand why honey is not vegan. It’s not the animal, or insect, we’re eating when we eat honey right? It’s the idea that they worked for it and we took it?? I get that, it isn’t very nice but I have a hard time wrapping my brain around it being comparable to say eating meat, or even eggs.
You’re probably wondering what all this has to do with dogs or feeding or that matter. Well, I am re-branding Biscuits by Lambchop — wait until you see, so cute! But I digress. Because our treats were created to address many common canine food allergies and other conditions, we currently have a very long statement on the front of the label that says:
Free of gluten, wheat, soy, rice, corn, nuts, eggs, dairy, animal protein and preservatives. Whew! That’s a mouthful! Sometimes people joke and ask “well what IS in them?”.
So, I decided to address the top foods that many dogs have sensitivities to. I realized that the term VEGAN would cover the eggs, dairy and animal protein and that was great. I’ll write Gluten free, vegan. Someone even suggested we design our own “stamp”. Awesome! I fell in love with the idea and was seriously excited.
Then it hit me. Not really like a ton of bricks but like a slowly deflating balloon. HONEY. Starlets have a tiny bit of HONEY in them and honey is not vegan!
I’ve read all the controversy surrounding this but the Brits who defined the term vegan have gone out of their way to specify that honey is not vegan. So, I’m respecting that it’s their term and I won’t taint it, or possibly mislead anyone — and I’m not changing the recipe. I’ll live with it — and not pretend to be a bee’s bff, even if I do use raw honey from the Greenmarket.
We’re curious, what do you think about honey, the bees and veganism? Do you think honey should be categorized as non-vegan? Did you even know it wasn’t vegan?
If you have any suggestions for shortening my “free of” statement, let me know! Always open to hear your ideas!