Is honey okay to eat?

[PsYcHo]

42: the meaning of life???

Well, you did forget the "universe and everything," but I'll accept that as an appropriate response. (I had a feeling you would get that..)

For me avoiding honey is not coming at a high cost, and so avoiding it is easy, and even though honey causes only a little bit of suffering, I choose not to cause that amount. For others, avoiding honey or other animal products is a highly inconvenient thing, and so they choose to use them.

I respect that, and yes, for me personally certain dietary issues are based on convenience. I would avoid dairy if adequate substitutes were readily available. But as for honey, well, I truly feel it has beneficial qualities that outweigh the inconvenience I place upon the bees.

I can appreciate that different factors influence different people in their ethical decisions, and hence I don't go around expecting everyone to be like me. That doesn't mean I don't do advocacy, just that I try to make it clear I am not judging others by my standards (even if it is true that I'd rather they agreed with me on many issues), but that I would implore most people to live according to their own standards,

That seems like an excellent way to go about advocacy. Some people can be changed a little, some a bit more (like me perhaps), and some all the way. With an attitude like yours, I believe you can make a significant change in some, as long as you are not stifled by persons who challenge you in less than friendly ways.

[brimstoneSalad]

The health claims of honey don't seem to be based on evidence, but marketing... it's basically just dirty (contains bacterial spores than can be harmful to babies and the immunocompromised) sugar syrup for humans (but very different for bees). I looked at one claim here:
http://philosophicalvegan.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2875

Some hives, when they're productive, literally drip with honey and it spills out on the ground. In these cases it would be pretty easy to collect that extra for human use and probably not harmful to the bees at all (they WILL collect that honey and put it back if you leave it, but you wouldn't have to bother them to take it).
I don't think there's any reason to do that, though, medicinally or nutritionally. If you want something sweet, your best bet for health purposes is fruit or a non-caloric sweetener like Stevia.

Taking too much honey may be contributing to CCD (it's not clear what all of the variables are, but poor nutrition is probably one), because replacing the Bees' nectar based food that they've processed with sugar (while it's basically the same for humans) is not the same for bees. BUT if you only take a little bit and don't need to replace it with sugar, it probably wouldn't be harmful. If you like honey a lot, maybe ask about the % of honey they take from the bees, and try to find one with a lower %. If some apiary is just taking 10% of the bees' honey, that's probably of minimal harm.

Honey is probably the easier technically non-vegan thing to source ethically if you wanted to.

[Ignis Centaurus]

Well, Cloud, I'd have to say that there are some inhumane practices surrounding it, but ultimately it is not harmful to bees, and thus I consider it okay. May or may not be vegan, but so long as all their food sources are not stolen, and they have plenty to eat, this form of "exploitation" is not bad in my opinion. I live nearby a lovely old lady from Mongolia who doesn't add a single thing to her honey and it's almost too sweet, so using it in cooking, you certainly wouldn't need a lot. She also feeds her bees well and with their own honey, so I see no problem.

[PsYcHo]

Well, Cloud

Not always Cloud, but one of my preferred avatars and characters. Poor Zach though...

Thanks for the input.