Stop The Press: Avocados Aren't Vegan!

We don’t really want to ruin your day, but if you’re a vegan we’re probably about to. You see, a few of those staple foods that you rely on heavily for your vegan lifestyle aren’t that vegan after all.

That’s right, avocado, kiwi fruit, butternut squash and even melons are technically non-vegan products. And if you’re now wondering where they’ve hidden the sausage in an avocado, it’s a bit more complicated than that.

The shocking revelation came during an episode of the BBC’s QI when the host Sandi Toksvig asked the contestants to point out the vegan fruit and veg. She then replied that none of the above are vegan and it’s all to do with bees.

“It’s the same reason as honey’, says Toksvig. “They can’t exist without bees, and bees are used in, let’s call it an ‘unnatural way’.”

So, what exactly are producers doing with bees to make avocados non-vegan? Well, it’s a process called migratory beekeeping and it’s down to the fact that certain crops are very difficult to cultivate naturally.

They need to be pollinated by insects, such as bees, and when you’re growing them to sell, you can’t rely on bees randomly buzzing in your direction. Instead, they are transported in trucks across whole countries just to do the job.

So, do vegans need to give up eating these veggies then? Well, that would be pretty hard as it turns out all sorts of greens are cultivated in similar ways. That would mean no more broccoli, cherries, cucumbers or lettuce either.

It’s time to ask the experts. The Vegan Society addresses the issue in Plant Based News. Its spokesperson Dominika Piasecka says: “Vegans avoid using animals as far as possible and practicable.”

That means it’s too difficult to cut out all foods that cause indirect harm to animals and insects, but that vegans should avoid exploiting them as much as they can. If avocado on toast is your biggest crime, you’re probably not a bad vegan.

Piasecka summarises: “Vegans make a huge contribution to the reduction in suffering and death caused to animals and we would welcome any changes made to farming practices that support this.”