The honey issue & focusing on the most marginalized groups

The first result when one searches the words “vegan” & “honey” on the Google search engine is the website “Why Honey is Not Vegan.” This website, created in 1999, explains clearly & directly the reasons why veganism—in its original sense, as non-exploitation—stands against the exploitation of bees.  The website pairs this explanation with an in-depth exploration of how honey is produced, allowing the reader to really understand bees & feel for their situation.

The website’s creator, Noah Lewis, is currently raising money to fund a complete overhaul & revision of the site.  Proposed additions to the site include information on colony collapse disorder, a letter to raw vegans who eat honey, a review of Bee Movie, & an examination of honey & honey bees as depicted in children’s literature.  The updated website would dispel myths & common misunderstandings about honey & antioxidants, the ethics of eating fruit that’s been pollinated by bees, & organic/natural beekeeping.

Beyond promoting Noah’s specific effort, I want to use this post to discuss one of the values I see embodied in this effort.  That is, while it explains veganism to the public, it insists on solidarity with some of the most marginalized nonhuman animals—insects.  Moreover, by arguing for the liberation of that most marginalized group, I think it effectively argues for the liberation of all groups.

Focusing on the most marginalized groups

Some vegans question an outreach effort that specifically addresses “the honey issue,” especially since other advocates intentionally avoid the subject.  In a conversation with Ida at The Vegan Ideal, Noah explains the motivation behind a website exclusively about the exploitation of bees:

I see my page on bees as akin to when other social justice movements focus on the most marginalized groups. If we don’t speak up for bees now, when are we going to, exactly? In other social justice movements, the more privileged groups are always blaming the more marginalized groups, saying that they’re holding back the movement. The LGBT movement exemplifies this, where wealthy white suburban gays and lesbians are embarrassed by flamboyant pride parades and don’t understand what the T has to do with the LGB.

Along with ensuring the inclusion of bees into our idea of veganism, I think focusing on bees can actually help to effectively communicate the core ideas of veganism.  When I discuss veganism with others, it’s important to me that I communicate the core, the real root, of what I’m doing as a vegan & what I feel as a vegan.  For me, this means making it clear that I’m opposed to all animal exploitation.  The method I’ve used for communicating this has been talking about “exploitation itself.”  I try to strip away all the particulars & talk about exploitation, force, & oppression in very general terms.  I’ve come to understand, however, that focusing on the most marginalized groups—human or nonhuman—tends to do this same kind of thing.  I think that to seek liberation for the most marginalized groups is not only to seek liberation for those specific groups.  To seek liberation for the most marginalized groups seems, instead, to demonstrate an opposition to all oppression—an opposition to “every possibility of oppression and exploitation.”

While L.O.V.E.’s approach has often been to question multiple speciesist practices in the same pamphlet—or to question multiple forms of oppression in the same blog post—I think another useful approach is to focus on a single instance of oppression & use that discussion as a vehicle to spread underlying non-exploitation ideals.  This is especially relevant to everyday conversations about veganism.  Often, we have an opportunity to speak to people about specific forms of exploitation that are mentioned in conversation.  We can use these conversations to spread ideas of non-exploitation in general.  This is what Victor & Miranda have done with a recent circus pamphlet, suggesting underlying themes of choice & consent, & I think this is what “Why Honey is Not Vegan” does.

For more:
-   Noah writes about “normalizing radical and radicalizing norms.”
-   “Why Honey is Not Vegan” Kickstarter page (donations accepted until Oct. 14 or until goal is reached).