The author assumes that the motivation to be vegan is directly linked with animal cruelty. For most vegans this is true. For many it is a decision based on health and what is normal for the human body's design. As such, cruelty to bees or any other animal is a non-factor for me and many others. Vegan has nothing to do with cruelty it is simply to do with the source of the food.

A real discussion on the topic would be whether the honey is in fact an animal source or not. Honey is esssentially flower nectar that is regurgitated (or vomited if you wish).

So is this plant nectar processed by the bees stomach a plant or an animal product?

Oh, your logic (if you can call it that) is SO faulty. What is meat? It's just muscle, right? And how are muscled formed? By an animal eating plant material for food. So, you could take your "honey is made from plants" statement and say "muscles are made from plants", too.

It's stunning, sometimes, how stupid people can be.

Eeeeee-z, killer. Instead of tearing this poor soul a new one, how about we go for a little peace, love and understanding?

I would have gone with something along these lines:

[Plant nectar is not the same thing as honey. Therefore honey should probably be considered a substance produced by bees (read: animals). So, for the vegans you refer to as being vegan based on plant vs. animal products, it seems like honey should be considered to be an animal product.

For the record, I would say vegans choose that lifestyle for a variety of reasons: health, environmentalism, and for the benefit of animals. And your right: technically speaking, the term "vegan" isn't about the reason for doing it, it's about avoiding animal products in your daily life.]

And you, ard_vrk, are also right. Muscles are plants. We are plants. We are sunlight and water and a few choice atoms. Thanks be to the minor miracles. Carry on...