Prescriptivism and descriptivism: vegetarian, vegan and dairy

[Laurence Horn]

On Feb 6, 2012, at 1:09 PM, Benjamin Barrett wrote:

>> For vegans, doesn't it depend on whether the bees are cultivated (or
>> should that be "herded"?) -- that is exploited, or it's just that
>> their product is purloined?  And what about kosher vegans eating honey?
>
> Wikipedia says: "Ethical vegans reject the commodity status of animals and the use of animal products for any purpose, while dietary vegans or strict vegetarians eliminate them from their diet only. Another form, environmental veganism, rejects the use of animal products on the premise that the industrial practice is environmentally damaging and unsustainable."
>
> Then: "Neither the Vegan Society nor the American Vegan Society considers the use of honey, silk, or other insect products to be suitable for vegans, while Vegan Action and Vegan Outreach regard that as a matter of personal choice."
>
> I'd never heard of making a difference between cultivated and wild bee honey, but clearly, the dictionary definition of vegan should accommodate both.
>
So "strict vegetarians" are basically lax vegans?  The "ethical vegan" label seems a bit prejudicial; I wonder whether vegans who eschew animal products but wear leather and burn wax candles would be happy to be considered unethical vegans.

LH

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