According to some people we shouldn’t eat avocados because bees are exploited for labour. Some farmers use migratory beekeeping to pollinate fruits and vegetables while forcing bees to gather pollen and nectar from a single crop which deprives them of a far more diverse and nourishing diet, according to Scientific American magazine.
The bottom line is honey has been linked to health benefits like improved heart health, wound healing, and blood antioxidant status. However, consuming too much may cause adverse effects due to its high sugar and calorie content. Thus, it's best to use honey to replace other forms of sugar and enjoy it in moderation.
One thing that most sensible people can agree on whether they’re vegan, meat-eaters, follow Paleo or keto diets, or whatever food tribe they happen to belong to; is that avocados are delicious.
But there’s a paradigm-shifting debate online about the very nature of avocados that could make some of the eaters who appreciate them the most, renounce them.
Honeybees pollinate many of our favourite fruits and vegetables, but in large parts of some developed countries there are not enough bees to do this job naturally or efficiently.
So, farmers employ the practice of migratory beekeeping: they truck hives into their fields, where the bees live for short periods to pollinate the crops during the plants’ most fertile window.
Depending on how strict their definition of veganism is, some vegans may be dismayed to learn that the avocado-almond milk smoothies they’ve been drinking might – gasp! – not be so vegan after all.
Vegans eschew not only products made from animals, such as bacon and leather, but also products made by animals, the most obvious examples being milk and butter.
Many people question whether avocados, the world’s biggest superfood, are vegan due to the role of migratory bees in their production.
For those who do not practice veganism, and admittedly for some who do, what is and isn’t considered vegan is not as straightforward as it seems. For the most part, people will describe veganism as the practice of not using or consuming animal products.
However, it does get slightly complicated for some products. For example, honey is not considered vegan by most. But there are other, not-so-obvious foods that have come under scrutiny among stricter vegans and are being labelled as non-vegan. One of these is everyone’s favourite superfood, avocados.
Have a great day!
Prof. Carl Boniface
Vocabulary builder:
Migratory beekeeping = refers to beekeepers who travel with their beehives in order to pollinate crops. There are about 190 migratory beekeepers in Queensland who travel across Australia with their bees. A 2007 study found that 35pc of the food in the world is a result of animal pollinators.
Vegan (n) = a person who does not eat any food derived from animals and who typically does not use other animal products. "I'm a strict vegan."
Eschew (v) = avoid, shun, disdain, abjure, have nothing to do with, steer clear of, turn your back on, give up