Should Vegans Eat Honey?
Turns out that the honey question is even stickier than I initially realized
A few months after I’d become vegan, a cook at a Mediterranean restaurant in suburban Chicago caught me off-guard. I’d just ordered what the cashier confirmed was an entirely vegan meal: a rice plate with hummus, Greek olives, pickled onions, falafel, tomato, cucumber, other fresh veggies, and bread made without eggs, dairy, or butter.
I’d paid and turned to walk to a table when the cook rushed out from the back of the kitchen, shouting, “Wait! The bread isn’t actually vegan!” When I looked at him, he continued, “It’s sweetened with honey. Vegans don’t eat that, right?”
“Um,” I eloquently replied.
The cashier and patrons in line silently watched me, waiting for my answer. I felt like I was speaking on behalf of all the vegans in the world.
I froze.
In the months before and after becoming vegan, I’d read many vegan-focused books and blog posts, watched vegan documentaries, and had conversations with vegan and vegetarian friends. I’d begun buying “cruelty-free”-labeled beauty products and donating my leather shoes and purses to thrift stores as I replaced them with vegan-friendly items. I thought I’d covered all my bases, but I hadn’t really…
