Some people are arguing avocados aren't vegan - here's the DL

Doing Veganuary? Trying to work out what you can and can't eat?

Well, you might have noticed a bit of a debate on the internet about one surprising ingredient – the humble avocado.

Yup, it turns out a bunch of you are Googling 'are avocados vegan?', and the answer isn't as simple as you'd expect.

Are avocados vegan? It's a little complex... (Credit: Getty)

Of course, most of us would assume the answer is a straight 'yes'. They're a fruit, what could be the issue, right?

But it turns out the debate is a little murkier than it seems, at first glance.

It's actually been a debate that's been circling for several years now, following a moment on BBC's QI.

The host, Sandi Toksvig, suggested that the avo should be shunned by "strict vegans" in the same way as honey, due to something called "migratory beekeeping."

You can watch the full clip below:



"Because they’re so difficult to cultivate naturally, all of these crops rely on bees, which are placed on the back of trucks and taken long distances across the country," the host stated.

"It’s migratory beekeeping and an unnatural use of animals and there are lots of foods [including avocados] that fall foul of this.”

Let's break it down.

It turns out that commercial farms in the States do have to transport in as many as 31 billion honeybees from Europe, because there aren't enough native to the area to pollinate their plants.

As explained in The Kitchen, the issue is that vegans avoid honey because, in part, they deem its production to be exploiting bees.

But hang on...are the two debates really the same?

Are avocados vegan?

No need to sack off avocado on toast just yet (Credit: Getty)

Despite understandable confusion, according to experts, avocados are vegan – but it's a bit complicated to explain why.

There are several factors to consider here. On the one hand, what Sandi says about the ethical issues surrounding migratory beekeeping is true, but it does neglect to highlight some of the nuances of the argument.

For one, not all avocados (or other plants, for that matter) rely on migratory beekeeping. It's really location specific.

This is mainly the case in large areas like California, where the ratio of bees to nut, fruit and veg being farmed is well off. Small farms still produce these products with native bees.

Whilst it's great to bare this in mind when shopping (vegan or not), obviously we can't always control where we get our fruit and veg from.

It's also worth considering that avocados aren't the only produce farmed in this way. We're also talking carrots, onions, apples and broccoli, to name just a few.

A lot of fruit and vegetables in the US rely on migratory beefarming (Credit: Getty)

In fact, America would be without a third of its crops if migratory beefarming didn't exist. So, can we really deem all of this fruit and veg non vegan?

There'd barely be anything left to eat!

According to The Vegan Society, who actually invented the word ‘vegan’, the word should be defined as "a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose."

As far as possible are the key words, here.

Tracy Reiman, a representative for PETA, further backs this up, telling Vegan Food and Living: "Average shoppers can’t avoid produce that involves migratory beefarming, any more than they can avoid driving on asphalt."

"We live in a food system that massively relies on large-scale produce-farms that utilise bees," say the publication in their own deep dive into the issue.

"Unfortunately, modern society and overpopulation has made it virtually impossible to break away from food produced this way."

The Vegan Society says avocado is a-okay (Credit: Getty)

Does this mean honey is vegan, then?

Now, we know what you're thinking. Surely by the same logic, honey should be labelled vegan, then?

This is where it gets even stickier... if you'll pardon the pun.

The issue with honey isn't just migratory beekeeping. Bees produce honey as a source of nutrients for themselves, and therefore some vegans argue that taking this from them is inhumane.

Honey farmers typically take away as much honey as they can from beehives before they hibernate, and in some cases they replace this honey with a sugar syrup, which isn't as nutritious and therefore prevents the bees thriving as they should.

Vegan Food and Living explains that the consequence is "these bees will either die, reduce in numbers due to hunger, or famish later in their lives due to nutrient deficiencies.

"This is because the sugar substitutes are lacking the essential nutrients, fats and vitamins of honey."

Commercial beekeeping presents its own ethical issues (Credit: Getty)

Many commercial beekeepers also "cull" their hives when they want to save money, which is obviously a practice vegans can't condone.

"These tiny animals are factory-farmed, much like chickens, pigs, and cows are," say PETA, on the issue of honey farming. "Avoid honey, beeswax, propolis, royal jelly, and other products that come from bees."

When asked by the Washington Post to explain the difference between honey farming and other uses of migratory bees, a PETA rep added: “Everyone can easily avoid honey, which is made by bees for bees, and instead enjoy delicious vegan options such as agave nectar.

"[Veganism] shouldn’t be about adhering to rigid dogma for dogma’s sake but rather about making choices that bring about positive change.

"Ideally, the use of products that involve harming animals should be avoided, but it’s impossible to be 100 percent ‘pure.’ "

Featured image: Getty/ Unsplash