# Do Vegans eat honey? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 25, 2001, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489 "2001-05-25T15:21:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489/1 "2001-05-25T15:21:26Z")
By which I mean strict vegetarians, not alien visitors from Vega. Well, do they? Just wondered. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489/2 "2001-05-25T15:36:47Z")
Well, each person makes different decisions, but yes, the most strict vegans do not eat honey, because it is an animal product. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489/3 "2001-05-25T17:18:40Z")
Melivorous vegan here. I realize this admission may bet me blackballed by the Vegan Brotherhood, but hey I love honey. Just can’t draw any equivalence between the cruel conditions imposed on milch cows in modern dairies and the alleged exploitation of worker bees. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489/4 "2001-05-25T17:30:58Z")
That’s “get”, not “bet”. ---
**Author:** ![Morrison\_s\_Lament](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Morrison\_s\_Lament](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morrison_s_Lament)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489/5 "2001-05-25T18:04:40Z")
I’ve even heard of fruitarians that eat honey, and they are far more extreme than you vegan lot. Don’t feel bad 😃 G. Raven p.s. I’m a vegitarian that feels forced to consume eggs through bread and cakes btw, I just can’t live without lots of bread. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489/6 "2001-05-25T18:21:51Z")
OK I’'ll bite. (crunch)… and no I don’t want to do a google search I do enough of them already. What’s a fruitarian and why are they so extreme? ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489/7 "2001-05-25T18:32:23Z")
The American Heritage Dictionary says a **fruitarian** is > [@](#): > > One whose diet includes fruits, seeds, and nuts but no vegetables, grains, or animal products. ---
**Author:** ![Morrison\_s\_Lament](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Morrison\_s\_Lament](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morrison_s_Lament)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489/8 "2001-05-25T20:19:31Z")
Actually that’s accurate, but it does not completely capture the spirit of the concept, like most dictionary definitions. Fruitarians basically do not want to kill to feed themselves. They will eat anything that is a natural by product of the life cycle, such as seeds ands fruits that naturally fall off the living plants. For a famous example of vegetables they avoid, see the “murder of the carrot” scene with Emma Thompson in Notting Hill. That’s why I’m in doubt to their general position on honey, it seems ideal for their criteria of “non-death” food. — G. Raven ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489/9 "2001-05-25T20:23:15Z")
I saw a group of folks on TV once who wouldn’t eat seeds or fruit as this would interfere with the reproductive cycle of plants; all they would eat was plant material that could be harvested without killing the plant (so basically leaves). They were _ **very** _ thin. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489/10 "2001-05-25T20:30:08Z")
A few years ago, I copyedited a book on vegetarianism, and in it was a section on some more-extreme forms; the ones I remember are fruitarians, sproutarians, and, believe it or not, breathatarians. Here’s a [link](http://www.village.org/bvra/vegall.txt) where the last one is discussed. Enjoy! ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489/11 "2001-05-25T21:11:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Morrison’s Lament \* > **For a famous example of vegetables they avoid, see the “murder of the carrot” scene with Emma Thompson in Notting Hill.** Huh? I just saw “Notting Hill” and don’t remember Emma Thompson being in it. Are you thinking of another movie? ---
**Author:** ![rivulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rivulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rivulus)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489/12 "2001-05-25T23:28:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Scarlett67 \* > \*\*A few years ago, I copyedited a book on vegetarianism, and in it was a section on some more-extreme forms; the ones I remember are fruitarians, sproutarians, and, believe it or not, breathatarians. Here’s a [link](http://www.village.org/bvra/vegall.txt) where the last one is discussed. Enjoy! \*\* Ah, nice to see the inhabitants of my hometown have officially gone completely nuts. (Oops. I hope that comment won’t be construed as “plantism” against nuts.) So… what _do_ breathatarians eat? I hope they realize how many living things they kill off by breathing in poor defenseless microbes which may die, drowning in pools of mucus or saliva. And heaven help the poor dust mites crushed when they turn over in bed. Oh, the horror. rivulus ---
**Author:** ![muffinman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@muffinman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muffinman)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2001, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489/13 "2001-05-26T05:12:40Z")
Do tell me this is a joke. It’s only because of the wierdness of the internet that I feel my ability to judge something as satire as impaired. Hell, I thought the anti-circumcision pages were satire until I was informed otherwise. For fun, check out [fufme.com](http://fufme.com) ---
**Author:** ![Morrison\_s\_Lament](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Morrison\_s\_Lament](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morrison_s_Lament)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2001, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489/14 "2001-05-26T07:36:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kinsey \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Morrison’s Lament \* > > **For a famous example of vegetables they avoid, see the “murder of the carrot” scene with Emma Thompson in Notting Hill.** > > Huh? I just saw “Notting Hill” and don’t remember Emma Thompson being in it. Are you thinking of another movie? \*\* Ehm, maybe, but I’m pretty sure it was Notting Hill. I do know Hugh Grant and Emma Thompson were in it. There is a scene in this movie where Hugh Grant has taken a girlfriend to dinner with his friends, one of them is a hippie played by Emma Thompson. The conversation turns to Emma’s eating habits, when she claims she cannot eat the carrots because they have been brutally murdered. It could well have been some other movie though, I try to forget everything I see Hugh Grant in 😃 — G. Raven ---
**Author:** ![Major\_Feelgud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3be4f8/32.png) [@Major\_Feelgud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Major_Feelgud)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2001, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489/15 "2001-05-26T08:16:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Morrison’s Lament \* > \*\*Actually that’s accurate, but it does not completely capture the spirit of the concept, like most dictionary definitions. > > Fruitarians basically do not want to kill to feed themselves. They will eat anything that is a natural by product of the life cycle, such as seeds ands fruits that naturally fall off the living plants. For a famous example of vegetables they avoid, see the “murder of the carrot” scene with Emma Thompson in Notting Hill. > That’s why I’m in doubt to their general position on honey, it seems ideal for their criteria of “non-death” food. > > — G. Raven \*\* In that case will Fruitarians eat animals that died of natural causes, such as old age or accidental death? By definition these products are a natural by product of the life cycle since animals or plants do not live forever. ---
**Author:** ![Morrison\_s\_Lament](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Morrison\_s\_Lament](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morrison_s_Lament)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2001, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489/16 "2001-05-26T08:20:28Z")
I think animals that die of natural causes usually don’t taste too good 😃 Seriously, though, I doubt they do. It’s more of a feeling than any kind of logic that dictates these things. — G. Raven ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2001, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489/17 "2001-05-26T10:51:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Morrison’s Lament \* > Fruitarians basically do not want to kill to feed themselves. They will eat anything that is a natural by product of the life cycle, such as seeds ands fruits that naturally fall off the living plants. Placenta stew, anyone? ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2001, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489/18 "2001-05-26T12:15:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Morrison’s Lament \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Kinsey \* > > \*\* > > > > > [@](#): > > > > > > \*Originally posted by Morrison’s Lament \* > > > **For a famous example of vegetables they avoid, see the “murder of the carrot” scene with Emma Thompson in Notting Hill.** > > > > Huh? I just saw “Notting Hill” and don’t remember Emma Thompson being in it. Are you thinking of another movie? \*\* > > Ehm, maybe, but I’m pretty sure it was Notting Hill. I do know Hugh Grant and Emma Thompson were in it. > > There is a scene in this movie where Hugh Grant has taken a girlfriend to dinner with his friends, one of them is a hippie played by Emma Thompson. The conversation turns to Emma’s eating habits, when she claims she cannot eat the carrots because they have been brutally murdered. > > It could well have been some other movie though, I try to forget everything I see Hugh Grant in 😃 > > — G. Raven \*\* Not [i[Notting Hill\*. the IMDb lists these movies where Emma and Hugh have worked together: 1.Impromptu (1991) 2.Remains of the Day, The (1993) 3.Sense and Sensibility (1995) ---
**Author:** ![Morrison\_s\_Lament](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Morrison\_s\_Lament](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morrison_s_Lament)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2001, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489/19 "2001-05-26T12:44:19Z")
Well I’ll be jiggered… I must be going nuts. Oh, wait, I already went nuts. — G. Raven ---
**Author:** ![Major\_Feelgud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3be4f8/32.png) [@Major\_Feelgud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Major_Feelgud)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2001, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489/20 "2001-05-26T16:13:18Z")
It was Julia Roberts in Notting Hill. One of the characters at dinner was a vegan. The first time I ever heard of these people. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-eat-honey/66489.md?page=2)