Food Editor, Laila Freeman, responds to the recent statement that avocados are not vegan.
A question on BBC quiz show QI has left vegans across the country in shock. Contestants were asked which food, of a group of foods including our beloved avocados, was not vegan. The answer: none of them were. Yes you heard right, apparently avocados are not vegan. Queue a whirlwind of questions, mainly revolving around what to order at brunch now that avocado toast is off your menu.
Let us understand what has prompted this awful news. The reason behind avocados not being considered vegan is due to the role of bees in the cultivation process. Whilst the nature of the eco system in general means that many plants rely on animals or insects to grow - after all even pollination of ordinary flowers relies on insects, or are gardens the next thing to be labelled non vegan? - it is the way in which bees are used in the avocado farming process that causes the controversy. ‘Let’s call it an “unnatural way”’, stated Sandi Toksvig in response to her answer.
Photo by Brenda Godinez / Unsplash
So what is it that makes the use of bees in avocado farming ‘unnatural’? When used in commercial farming, beehives are transported across large distances and the bees are often brought into new and unfamiliar environments. For example, in order to cultivate avocados in California, bees have to be imported into the state, as not enough naturally inhabit that area.
Toksvig also drew comparison to the fact that many vegans do not eat honey, due to the fact that the commercial production of this substance harms bees. The argument against eating honey is twofold: first, that honey is a bee’s source of energy and that by harvesting it for human consumption we are denying them of this, and secondly that in commercial beekeeping, honey bees are bred specifically for the production of the food source. It is this second line of argument that can be applied to avocados too.
And not just avocados. Indeed several other fruits and vegetables were on Toksvig’s hit list that night. Almonds, kiwi, butternut squash and melon were placed alongside avocados in the list of foods that could not be considered vegan. To examine the claim against almonds, as the only nut in the list, it seems that the reasons are quite the same, with the mass transportation of bees being cited as proof for another vegan staple’s non vegan nature. This claim can actually be found to have existed much earlier than last week’s QI episode, with almondsarenotvegan.com arguing for vegans to stop eating almonds. This blog asserts that 80% of almonds are produced in California and that pollination takes places over a 22 day span. In order to ensure that all the trees are pollinated, bees are imported from all over the country. This disrupts natural food chains and eco systems and subjects bees themselves to harsh conditions.
However, many vegans seem to disagree with Toksvig’s bold statement. Speaking to Plant Based News, Dominika Piasecka, a representative from The Vegan Society stated:
‘We are aware that many forms of farming involve indirect harm to animals but it is unfortunately not possible or practicable to avoid the destruction of other animals in most farming at this time’.
Photo by Charles Deluvio 🇵🇭🇨🇦 / Unsplash
So it seems that avocado toast is, thankfully, not cancelled after all. Likening avocados, almonds and all the other listed fruit and vegetables to honey seems careless, as it is the fact that honey is a bee’s own food source, which humans are taking, which constitutes a considerable part of the reason why honey is not vegan.
*Thus, whilst vegans do aim to limit animal suffering as much as they can, there seems to come a point where this is not always possible and it is important to decide where you draw your own personal line. *
Feature image: Unsplash/Thought Catalog
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