The Vegan View

Every bee that I ever asked never refused to offer their honey and wax for the benefit of man. That is why they were created! Bees are not "animals" they are insects. Isn't it exploiting Mother Earth to take of the vegetables and fruit produced from her energy in the ground? It seems inconsistent to limit the scope

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VegFamily readers reply:


Katia:
That is an interesting argument. I don't feel that being vegan exploits mother earth. As far as I can see it veges and fruits have evolved into making themselves more attractive to animals so that their seeds are spread and another generation of plants exist. I don't see how any animal has evolved to make themselves more pleasing for our dinner tables. They have evolved to BE and that to me makes a big difference. Suzie:
Insects are animals!

Naomi:
I have been vegan for 13 years and have had two children during that time. I had no problems during pregnancy that were anything to do with being vegan except my iron levels going low. This also happens to people who are not vegan. You just need to take iron pills. My iron level went back up between my pregnancies without me doing anything. I did not change my diet while I was pregnant (apart from eating more!) and lost all the weight I gained (eventually). My babies were both over 8 lbs and perfectly healthy. I also breastfed both my children until they were around two years old. I am lucky that no one in my family is rude enough to criticise my life and diet choices, despite none of them being vegan. If people do, I suggest you reply politely, but take no notice of what they say. Some people mistakenly believe that we need to to drink milk to be healthy and won't be swayed. My doctor and the obstetrician I saw during my first pregnancy were both supportive of my veganism and considered it very healthy. Some midwives and health visitors were less so, but ultimately they can only advise you and you can always ignore them! The real isssue with vegans having children whether your children be vegan. I think the vegan diet is the only really healthy diet (unless you eat nothing but cake and crisps) and will give you baby the best start in life.

Kacie:
I don't believe it is. If you ask, give thanks, and give back to mother earth, she will gladly offer you her plants and medicine. We need to respect her in that way, and also by replanting and creating and allowing biodiversity rather then destroying it.

Loretta:
The bees actually make their honey for food for the hive, I am an ex bee keeper and I know that many bees get squashed with the harvesting of their honey and also they do not "give" us the honey willingly, as can be evidenced by the fact that they have to be half choked with smoke to become docile. It depends how you look at it, if you want visit my website www.heartjourney.co.nz and look at the stories. There is an enormous amount of cruelty involved in taking from bees and animals their secretions and meat for our own use.If you read the book the lost language of plants you will see there that plants give off a vibration to us that is in harmony with our bodies ( evidence based). Animlas and bees do not willingly give up themselves for our use. There are wonderful books to read such as those quoted as well as World peace diet and The China study which show how it is beneficial to eat plants ( organic so that the earth is nourished and supported with their growth. Watch the dvd earthlings or on utube to see the enormous cruelty involved in using animals including bees for our gain.

Steve:
Dear 6 months vegan and pregnant,I would assuage (calm) your in-laws' fears in the same way that you would convince a skeptical M.D. doctor (often they are concerned, too, despite being highly educated). Address their concerns empirically (by collecting and measuring data).What I mean is, attack it this way:Doctors recommend XX grams of protein. I get XX grams of protein from eating tofu, black beans, peanut butter, bread, oatmeal, nuts legumes, etc.Doctors recommend XXmcg of calcium daily. I get this from leafy greens like kale, collard greens, and all the huge salads I eat (of course you do eat salads? hehe)Doctors recommend XXXmcg of vitamin B12, I get this from my vegan prenatal multivitamins, which also have lots of other great stuff including iron, folic acid, vitamin D and C, and so on.This will take some homework, but it's homework that you need to do anyways! And this approach is pretty much bullet-proof because it's based in fact.-Steve3 years vegan and 4 months pregnant

Deborah:
s this a serious question? Bees are "asked" for their honey and wax?? While it would be nice if that were true, the reality is quite different. Bee products are taken from them by force, and the bees have to then subsist on sugar-water. That abuse is one of the reasons why bee populations are struggling to survive. Human beings (aka "man") are only one of the many animal species on this planet. All forms of life are interconnected and interdependent. Eating a diet of vegetables and fruit is actually the least exploitative source of sustenance for human beings. Eating animal products (milk, meat, fish and yes, honey) burdens the planet far more.

Vegan Zoologist:
1. Bees refuse to give up their honey and wax by stinging you when you get too close to their hives. They also warn you of their venomous stings through aposematic coloration (the black and orange stripes on their abdomens). 2. No organism, not even the honey bee, is created for the benefit of humanity. In fact, honey bees have been around longer than humans. The earliest known ancestor Apis nearctica dates back to 14 million years in the fossil record. On the other hand, Homo sapiens sapiens have been around for only 200,000 years ago. Like all other living things, humans exist to survive and procreate with the help of their behavior, anatomy, and physiology in order to adapt to their environment the best they can. 3. Let?s look at how European honey bees are classified:Domain: EukaryaKingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: AnthropodaClass: InsectaOrder: HymenopteraFamily: ApidaeGenus: ApisSpecies: melliferaThis classification shows that honey bees, along with all insects, belong to the kingdom Animalia, commonly known as the animal kingdom. An animal is defined as any organism that is multicellular, having eukaryotic cells (cells with complex membrane-bound structures called organelles) that lack cell walls, being heterotrophic (consuming other livings in order to gain energy), being motile during at least one life stage, and their embryos often going through the blastula stage. This definition also applies to us. 4. Flowering plants intentionally produce fruit in order to spread their seeds. The seeds are contained inside of fruit. Sweet aromas, bright colors, and sweet tastes of ripe fruit attract herbivores and some omnivores. The animals pick the fruit off a tree, bush, or vine, usually carrying them to another location. This method of seed dispersal helps decrease the chances of the new plants competing against their parent plant for resources. 5. All organisms exploit Mother Nature and other organisms in one way, shape, or form in order to exist. The issue of veganism is one method of trying to reduce or eliminate the negative impacts of humanity, who are responsible for polluting the environment, driving countless species to extinction, and sapping away the earth?s resources.

Norma:
Anyone who thinks bees produce honey and wax for the benefit of man and happily give it to us is greatly deluded. They produce these things for the benefit of their own kind and to perpetuate and protect their next generation. In fact, worker bees die from exhaustion to produce honey and wax even without our taking so much from them. Every other sentient being that we steal from produce for themselves and own kind, not for humans.Dominion is the deadly delusion of the blindly self righteous.Speciesism is the most prevalent and deadliest ism causing untold suffering and death to those who cannot speak for themselves, including bees.

Maryanne:
The first sentence alone was ridiculous. "every bee I ever asked". So you can talk to bees? These people who think the earth and all its animals were put here for us to take and use and abuse as we please make me sick. Maybe they have their own purpose for being here. Did you ever think of that? Unlike animals, we can take fruits and vegetables from plants and the plant regenerates more. Veganism is about not abusing. Taking what we need while causing as minimal impact and suffering as possible. By the way, bees don't want to give their honey. Stick you hand in a hive w/o gassing the bees first and you will surely learn how angry and protective they get as they sting the hell out of you!

Kat:
I have heard this from so many nonvegans. My response is: It does not kill a tomato plant to eat the tomato. This is true about almost everything a vegan eats from nuts and seeds to fruit and many vegetables, with the exception of root vegetables. I grow alot of different greens and you can harvest leaves from kale and lettuces all season long without killing the plant. It is winter that kills plants in our region. Plants have evolved on their own to develop colorful, tasty, pleasing to the eye fruits to intice animals to eat them to spread their seeds. This insures their surival as a plant species.

carea:
well did the earth create the bees? it sustains all life but did not create us. an apple does not bleed or cry or love as animals do. animals and us are to live in harmony and within that we also have our own eco system. now with the factory farms n such the earth is being destroyed and the amount of cows and other consumed animals is at very unnatural quantities. the earths natural balance and eco system has also been thrown far off balance. so in turn consuming animals hurts our mother earth. also she provides the plants directly that grow from her and thats how she provides for us.

Kim:
There is no scientific evidence (and certainly not any proof) that shows that bees understand human language, so though you may have "asked" a bee a question, I cannot believe that the bees either understood you or answered. If you took the honey from them, and they did nothing, then that should be on YouTube. I have no experience with disturbing honey bees, but I assume there is a reason that bee keepers are covered head to toe with something that looks like a hazmat suit and an astronaut helmet. As for "Mother earth", the expression is a metaphor. The Planet Earth is not a woman, and does not give birth to human babies. Dirt is not a sentient being. It is sentient beings, those who are proven to have tangible, trackable or measurable states of depression, sadness, joy, excitement, fear, pain, etc..(All of which both humans and animals have exhibited again and again, in measurable and unmeasurable ways) that is my concern. However, I respect your right not to eat fruits or vegetables if that is what you choose. If you can communicate with bees, you should definitely contact some scientists about that, or at least put it on YouTube.

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