http://www.thestar.com/News/article/289362

"This is a darkening time for the world....In
North America, the most serious situation may
be with managed bees that are used for pollinating
farm crops. In the last two or three years they have
been disappearing by the hundreds of millions. In
addition, up to 90 per cent of wild bees have
disappeared. No one knows exactly why."

The Notmilk letter has been alerting its readers
about this coming challenge and solution long
before mainstream media even recognized that a
problem existed.

First, humans weakened bee's immune systems by stealing
their honey and replacing it with sugar water.

Then, society introduced powerful herbicides and
pesticides into the bee's environment which kill them
because their weakened immune systems cannot fight off
diseases from which they normally would survive.

Finally, we cluelessly spend millions of research
dollars trying to determine why beehive populations
are being diminished at an accelerating rate while
the answer to this riddle is sitting inside of jars
on pantry shelves. Mother Nature finds our ignorance
to be hilarious.

To be vegan is to practice "harmlessness" or
ahimsa to all living creatures. Many vegans
draw the line when it comes to eating honey
arguing that honey consumption does not hurt
bees. Many raw foodists assume the same, claiming
that honey is pure, delicious, and therapeutic.

Ten years ago I became a vegan but continued
to consume honey. I no longer do.

In my own mind, when I first became a vegan, I fooled
myself into thinking that I was a vegan; just not
a strict vegan. I was a careless rationalizing vegan.
I ate cookies and bagels and muffins made with eggs, or
enjoyed a slice of toast in a diner that might have
been baked with traces of milk powder. I probably also
ate some products containing milk chocolate, never
asking the server whether the icing or filling was
made with dairy products.

Today, I carefully read labels. I educate myself
about product ingredients. I do not eat the muffins
that I know contain eggs. I do not eat the halvah
or baklava that I know to contain honey.

Is honey vegan? I am often asked this question and
respond by first stating that I do not eat honey.
I then offer a brief explanation about how bees
are abused during the collection of their honey.
Finally, I offer an alternative. I have found that
maple syrup or agave syrup make great substitutes for
honey. I bake sweet potatoes drizzled with maple syrup.
I also use agave syrup in tea with lemon. I'm drinking
a cup as I write this, at 3 AM.