You just began your vegan journey and are still not sure about the question: Can you eat honey on vegan diet? Well, let us explain it to you in this article.
Why Is Honey Not Vegan Friendly?
Whether or not to categorize honey as a vegan alimentation has long been a hotly debated question among vegan dieters.
As of now, there hasn’t been a conclusive answer yet. Thus, before beginning, we have to claim that we are taking the stance from our perspective.
Alright, let’s cut to the chase now. Our short answer to the question “Can you eat honey on vegan diet?” is no, vegan dieters cannot and should not adopt honey into their daily staples for the following reasons.
First and foremost, honey is generated from the labor of bees and for bees.
During pollination, bees go to great lengths from flower to flower to gather the nectar, transform the nectar into liquid form, and store the final product inside their hives for later use.
In other words, honey serves as the fundamental source of carbohydrates for bees. Without honey, they will starve.
We thus consider honey consumption to be unfair and cruel – the exact opposite of vegans’ support for animal well-being.
Another justification for our stance is our concern towards bee exploitation and other detrimental farming methods that harm bee health during honey harvesting.
For example, some beekeepers decide to cut bees’ wings to prevent them from leaving the beehives, thus sustaining the workforce for generating honey. And it is utterly terrible.
But once again, we must assert that not every beekeeper does so. There still exists natural and organic honey.
These beekeepers pledge to take only the excess honey from the beehive and without laying a hand on the well-being of the bees.
Either way, consuming honey does not align with our moral beliefs. We choose not to use honey in any form.
With that being said, we still respect your choice, whether it is on the debate’s support or disagreement side.
What Do Vegans Use Instead Of Honey?
If you are against honey consumption, we have other substitutes for you, namely Barley malt syrup, peanut butter, date syrup, maple syrup, date paste, molasses, or coconut nectar. They are 100% vegan-friendly.
Let’s learn more about these ingredients.
#1. Peanut butter
This is one of the most common types of sugar alternatives. It is made from 100% nuts and can be homemade. The only problem with peanut butter is that it is extremely hard to resist.
The irresistible peanut butter
Speaking of nutritional values, peanut butter is a rich source of proteins. On average, 100 grams of peanut butter contain about 25.8 grams of high-quality proteins, making it suitable for your daily staples.
Yet, bear in mind that it is inherently a sugar alternative. Thus, try to consume it in moderate amounts.
#2. Maple syrup
This syrup just cannot be ignored. Maple syrup is made from saps of maple trees.
These saps are the final result of a very long process, from the starch stored inside maple trunks and roots, which are converted into sugar, and eventually tapped in the form of saps.
A good treat of pancakes and maple syrup
Maple syrup has a mild flavor, not too sweet as sugar nor too sharp as honey. It is also this flavor that makes it an indispensable topping on pancakes, crepes, or waffles.
There has been various scientific evidence citing the health benefits of maple syrup, such as mitigating skin inflammation, rashes, and acne. It also provides a distinctive sweet taste that can act as a mood lifter.
#3. Molasses
At first glance, molasses can resemble sugar in so many ways. Yet, at a closer look, it is modified from mashed sugarcane or sugar beet, boiled a few times until a brown viscous liquid appears, and voilà – there’s your molasses.
Molasses can be immensely beneficial to our health
Molasses are incredibly rich in potassium, vitamins, and other minerals. Many fitness gurus even credit it as a useful cure to muscle hypertension.
It is sometimes used as a secret formula in baking to maintain flour’s moisture for a crispy texture.
Conclusion
After all, the question “Can you eat honey on vegan diet?” is open to your interpretation.
Whatever your choice is, we hope you’ll do it consciously to minimize the waste to the environment and to live up to your beliefs without regrets.
And for now, we will be signing off.
