As Sweet as Honey

It is pretty easy for people to understand why I don’t eat meat. It is a bit more complicated explaining why I don’t want dairy or eggs, but the one animal product people are always surprised about it HONEY. “But it’s natural!” “Manuka honey is good for you!” and the one that always stabs me in the heart--”Bees make honey for us to enjoy!” This tends to be from the same people who think that animals are there just for us--like vending machines--to just give us what we want whenever we desire it.

I don’t do honey. And I’ll tell you why. Number one--honey is essentially bee vomit. That’s just gross.

Number two--bees work incredibly hard to make honey. To make one pound of honey,  bees must visit 2 million flowers, fly over 55,000 miles and this will be the lifetime work of approximately 300 bees.

Number three--that honey is full of nutrients perfectly geared to meet the bee’s nutritional needs over the long winter. Just like cow’s milk is the perfect food for a growing calf. The last time I looked I wasn’t either of these animals and so it is not my food to take. I’m not saying we don’t need bees. Bees are an important part of our delicate eco system. I’m saying it’s not my food to take.

Number four--beekeepers take that honey and replace it with cheap sugar water or corn syrup which is devoid of any nutrients so the bees have something to sweet to eat over the long winter.

Now if I had worked my butt off making a perfect, nutritious, healthy meal and someone snuck in to my house and STOLE it and replaced it with Wonder bread and a super size coke I’d be pretty pissed. 

Animals are not vending machines. We do not have the right to steal from them food that is theirs or food that is meant for their children. And so I use Agave Syrup as a substitute.

Agave Syrup is a sweet, amber coloured liquid that comes from the Agave cactus--the same kind that gives us tequila. It is low GI--meaning it won’t hike your blood sugar--so it is perfect for diabetics. You can find it in squeezy bottles in your local health food shop and supermarket. Even my mum can find it in Louisiana so it is not something that is hard to find. It is as sweet as  honey--but without cruelty to bees. Win-win situation. Check it out!