I haven’t really seen this discussed and I’m curious about if bugs are considered when talking about the lives of creatures.
On a similar note when a product is labeled as vegan, does that just mean that it’s animal product/testing free or is it also free from crushed up bugs (which are sometimes used for dyes).
Comments
some do, probably
Veganism is grounded in minimizing harm to all sentient beings, which includes insects to the extent that it’s practical and possible.
So yeah, most vegans try to avoid anything that involves purposely using or harming bugs… like honey from bees, shellac from lac bugs, or red dye made from crushed beetles (that’s cochineal or carmine).
That said, it gets a bit murky with stuff like accidentally stepping on ants or insects dying during farming.
Most vegans focus on avoiding direct use or exploitation, rather than stressing over every unavoidable impact.
Again… practical and possible.
Also, when a product is labeled vegan (especially if it’s certified) that typically includes being bug-free, as well as free from other animal products and animal testing.
Source: Vegan for 6 years.
>I haven’t really seen this discussed
Then you haven’t been paying attention. The most obnoxious and self-righteous vegans will proclaim nonstop that eating figs and honey is basically a holocaust.
It depends on the person. Some folks won’t eat things like nutritional yeast others do
Veganism isn’t a centralized religion or group.
They all do it in their own personal way.
The “Vegan” label just means that the company put a label with the word “Vegan” on it. It isn’t regulated.
There are vegan certificates that mean more than the label, because third party groups verify that the product is vegan
Yup. They don’t like that the safe replacement red food dye is insect based. They usually ignore bees used for pollinating their food.
If a vegan doesn’t grow all their own food, then no, because farmers kill billions of insects a year to grow crops.
To my understanding, there is some debate about honey in vegan communities. On the one hand, it’s absolutely an animal product. On the other hand, bees get the best deal out of any animal we keep, and they would absolutely pick up and leave if they didn’t find their living conditions favorable. Soooo…?
This has never made sense to me as an allotmenteer. Vegetable growing is a murderous activity. So many insects have to be killed. Killing one cow will give you way more portions of food than killing hundreds or thousands of little creatures to grow vegetables, and each portion is far more nutritious.
The idea of veganism is great, but it wouldn’t really stand up to its own scrutiny.
Bugs are sentient beings? Bugs have feelings and emotions? Nah.
I had a huge argument on r/vegan the other day for suggesting that plenty of vegans eat honey and I will die on that hill
It’s all a bit of a mess when you think that bugs and animals are used to grow plants.