*real vegans dont eat honey, it’s an animal product. Insects are part of the animal kingdom. Same could be said about shellac as it is the animal product of the lac bug. I know a few “vegans” that are vegan EXCEPT they eat honey. These are exceptions outside of being vegan, by definition. Not trying to be a prick and demean anybody that identifies as vegan yet consumes honey just stating the facts here … The lac bugs that produce shellac are very odd creatures! But all insects are part of the animal kingdom no matter how u dice it
There’s more than one way to define veganism. Primary distinction: is it about avoiding animal products whenever possible or is it about minimizing animal suffering/exploitation whenever possible? (Sub-argument, what counts as “exploitation”?)
I feel that no matter what you do, there will always be some level of suffering by something.
Unless you’re entirely lab growing all of your food in some sterile environment, but then it’s a matter of how you’re sourcing energy and disposing of waste to prevent harming creatures. I believe we’re still a ways off from entirely lab grown foods being a sustainable/economically viable option for most people as well.
Transportation of any kind will lead to the deaths of animals and insects. Even if you’re not operating a vehicle.
Personally, I feel that drawing the line at insects being non-vegan is a bit arbitrary, since at that point why is plant suffering not taken into account? Plants are multicellular organisms that respond to stimuli. They are living organisms, they reproduce, and they have a form of respiration.
I’m not vegan but I like to live based on harm reduction where I can. I’m thankful to the organisms that are helping to fuel me and it is for that reason I try my best to avoid being wasteful. I’m from a family that has hunted for food and we always made sure that no parts went to waste from an animal’s sacrifice. We also only ever went for as much as we needed, not the maximum allowed.
This is pretty much the point I aim for whenever I talk about veganism. It is arbitrary, but strong proponents tend to frame it as an obvious moral truth. I’m with you: be aware of and grateful for everything that contributes to your life and livelihood.
My own brand of “harm reduction” means eschewing plastic whenever possible, this means leather and wool instead of polyester and vinyl (cotton and linen can’t do everything, and vegetable leather just isn’t durable)
Ultimately I agree with you but semantically there are absolutely people who call themselves vegan that do not closely read labels for things like shellac. They just concern themselves for dairy, meat, etc either because it is a health concern or they don’t consider insects animals.
Similarly there are people who consider themselves vegetarian and eat tons of gelatin based candy despite the fact that gelatin cannot be made without killing an animal.
Doesn’t even get into refined/white sugar and the whole bone char thing!
*real vegans dont eat honey, it’s an animal product. Insects are part of the animal kingdom. Same could be said about shellac as it is the animal product of the lac bug. I know a few “vegans” that are vegan EXCEPT they eat honey. These are exceptions outside of being vegan, by definition. Not trying to be a prick and demean anybody that identifies as vegan yet consumes honey just stating the facts here … The lac bugs that produce shellac are very odd creatures! But all insects are part of the animal kingdom no matter how u dice it
re: “real vegans”
There’s more than one way to define veganism. Primary distinction: is it about avoiding animal products whenever possible or is it about minimizing animal suffering/exploitation whenever possible? (Sub-argument, what counts as “exploitation”?)
I feel that no matter what you do, there will always be some level of suffering by something.
Unless you’re entirely lab growing all of your food in some sterile environment, but then it’s a matter of how you’re sourcing energy and disposing of waste to prevent harming creatures. I believe we’re still a ways off from entirely lab grown foods being a sustainable/economically viable option for most people as well.
Transportation of any kind will lead to the deaths of animals and insects. Even if you’re not operating a vehicle.
Personally, I feel that drawing the line at insects being non-vegan is a bit arbitrary, since at that point why is plant suffering not taken into account? Plants are multicellular organisms that respond to stimuli. They are living organisms, they reproduce, and they have a form of respiration.
I’m not vegan but I like to live based on harm reduction where I can. I’m thankful to the organisms that are helping to fuel me and it is for that reason I try my best to avoid being wasteful. I’m from a family that has hunted for food and we always made sure that no parts went to waste from an animal’s sacrifice. We also only ever went for as much as we needed, not the maximum allowed.
This is pretty much the point I aim for whenever I talk about veganism. It is arbitrary, but strong proponents tend to frame it as an obvious moral truth. I’m with you: be aware of and grateful for everything that contributes to your life and livelihood.
My own brand of “harm reduction” means eschewing plastic whenever possible, this means leather and wool instead of polyester and vinyl (cotton and linen can’t do everything, and vegetable leather just isn’t durable)
That’s a brand of thought I could subscribe more to, thank you for sharing your perspective.
Ultimately I agree with you but semantically there are absolutely people who call themselves vegan that do not closely read labels for things like shellac. They just concern themselves for dairy, meat, etc either because it is a health concern or they don’t consider insects animals.
Similarly there are people who consider themselves vegetarian and eat tons of gelatin based candy despite the fact that gelatin cannot be made without killing an animal.
Doesn’t even get into refined/white sugar and the whole bone char thing!