Agave Nectar

I saw Madhava Agave nectar at this Farmers Market and heard about the benefits as compared to the higher GI / GL of Sugar and Honey.

It tasted pretty nice as well.

I remember hearing about it first on VBB so I knew where to come back and ask more questions.

I think I want to buy it and try it. (I did not end up buying over there.. for another reason because I was upset - I was fed chicken broth laced soup by a lady who was handing out taste of her FARM FRESH SOUPS. I asked 2-3 times if it contained any animal products.. is it vegetarian).

What brand?

Where to buy? Online / Store ? Where would it be cheaper?

Which type to buy? (Three varieties I noticed on the Madhava website)

PS: The more I get into transforming my diet & food, I am realizing that Organic and / or Vegan and / or healthy foods are surprisingly more expensive than crappy food & meat products. It was probably the exact opposite in India.

PS: The more I get into transforming my diet & food, I am realizing that Organic and / or Vegan and / or healthy foods are surprisingly more expensive than crappy food & meat products. It was probably the exact opposite in India.

That's because of the ridiculously corrupt ways in which we use our farm subsidies.

I've never tried agave nectar myself, but as long as it's vegan, I'd imagine it'd be okay, lots of people on here seem to like it.

They did point out that it is VEGAN unlike Honey which is borderline dependng on which VEGAN you ask.

I love agave nectar. I think it actually tastes better than honey

I love agave nectar. I think it actually tastes better than honey

I agree on the taste.

I love agave nectar. I think it actually tastes better than honey

I've never had it, but honey is a weird "food" anyway. Too little and you can't stand it, once you can start to taste it's too overpowering...even though I haven't had it in a couple of years.

I wouldn't call honey borderline the same way fish isn't borderline for vegetarians...its makes no sense to eat those things. I even know "vegans" that consume cage free eggs from neighbors...they are still not vegan.

Anyway as for companies I don't think it matters so long as its organic...they seem to taste the same to me although I like the dark stuff the most.

We buy the Madhava stuff, the darker of the two, and it's good.

We buy the Madhava stuff, the darker of the two, and it's good.

I guess I liked the lightest RAW one. I tried all three and as I went from light to dark the taste became stronger.. the dark had a slight punch to it.

Ofcourse these were not mixed in anything as such, just a minispoon with a big drop of it.

PS: What are the comparative nutritional values / benefits? Since the 1st one is RAW and others are boiled & processed.

It makes no difference...both are pure sugar with nothing living in it.

I don't think someone who eats raw honey isn't a vegan. After all, a honey bee is a insect. I don't count that as eating a animal product.

Personally, I love raw honey and there are much health benefits to it. It's a wonderful healing food too- they used it to heal wounds in the old days.

I also eat raw yacon root syrup too. I think it tastes way better than the other stuff. You guys should try it if you don't eat honey.

Yes a honey bee is an insect however a dairy cow is a cow and raw milk isn't vegan either. How is it not an animal product...its no different than wool or silk or anything else. Its not essential to life and even if you don't think they are conscious beings...its still terribly selfish to make something live for us. I also don't think anyone on here that is really vegan will try honey due to you're convincing testimonial. You are a biologist...insects are part of the animal kingdom....not the plant kingdom.

Are you one of the vegans who consider raw honey vegan but regular honey not vegan??? I've met people like that and they can never explain the difference. It seems some think regular honey is cruel and raw honey isn't. Maybe they think farmers make the bees refine the honey.

By the way...calling yourself vegan and liking something doesn't make it so. There are people who eat fish and chicken and claim to be vegetarians but they simply are not.

No, because the honey- raw or not- comes from an insect. Milk-raw or not- comes from a cow. Yes, raw milk is not vegan, but, orginially, I signed into this forum because of the raw food section they have. Although Bees are insects, they do serve the plant kingdom. The way I see it is: If a animal is not hurt in the process of giving food and they do it naturally, it's food can be a gift unto mankind. I believe Raw honey is that gift.

One of my best friends, that I buy honey from, is a bee farmer and produces raw honey and the bees are not hurt. I don't consume meat, fish, or chicken because I believe it to be unhealthy. Many people become vegans to be part of a trend to avoid ALL animal products, even if there were no scientific evidence showing meat was bad for you.

I keep away from meat , fish, and chicken, because I don't think it's unhealthy in the long run. However, I couldn't say the same for honey since it is a healthy food and usually the bees are not hurt in the process; and that they make honey naturally anywway. I do not considier myself vegan because I drink-or drank- raw milk too. As I stated when I first signed up, I was slowly moving into the raw food diet, since I used to eat that way, before I started college. A month after being on here I have not consumed raw milk or any raw dairy. So, I would not render myself that kind of person.

Yes a honey bee is an insect however a dairy cow is a cow and raw milk isn't vegan either. How is it not an animal product...its no different than wool or silk or anything else. Its not essential to life and even if you don't think they are conscious beings...its still terribly selfish to make something live for us. I also don't think anyone on here that is really vegan will try honey due to you're convincing testimonial. You are a biologist...insects are part of the animal kingdom....not the plant kingdom.

 

Are you one of the vegans who consider raw honey vegan but regular honey not vegan??? I've met people like that and they can never explain the difference. It seems some think regular honey is cruel and raw honey isn't. Maybe they think farmers make the bees refine the honey.

 

By the way...calling yourself vegan and liking something doesn't make it so. There are people who eat fish and chicken and claim to be vegetarians but they simply are not.

You are way off if you think bees aren't hurt by the honey industry. People that eat honey are simply stealing food from bees that need it. Also it is wrong to make any being live for our sake. Simply making animals do hard work for themselves then taking away what them make is cruel in itself.

You are way off if you think bees aren't hurt by the honey industry. People that eat honey are simply stealing food from bees that need it. Also it is wrong to make any being live for our sake. Simply making animals do hard work for themselves then taking away what them make is cruel in itself.

If I can remember currectly, you said a few posts back that you have no problem with people eating insects. What is the difference between eating a insect and eating a insect byproduct such as honey?

When did I say bees don't get hurt? I said that the raw honey I buy comes from bees who aren't hurt. I know that for a fact because I visit the farm to buy the honey and the farmer is one of my best friends. Fact remains that vegan means someone who does not consume animal products and it is wrong for anyone to go around judging people and telling them that they're not vegan because they eat a insect byproduct, not an animal byproduct.

I think we are insectivorous/vegan(I'm sure there is a better word for that). We aren't bears and we don't eat honey. However we should be eating the insects themselves not breeding them and using them for things like honey and silk. By the way...most omnis would consider an insect an animal so vegans should be able to do that too. I can't count the number of non-veg people that way it makes no sense to eat dairy or honey if you care about animals. VEGANS should be smarter than that. As for the beekeeper chances are his bees don't live the way they should be living. They should be a part of nature...not protected from being food and they should also have to work to find food.

I think we are insectivorous/vegan(I'm sure there is a better word for that). We aren't bears and we don't eat honey. However we should be eating the insects themselves not breeding them and using them for things like honey and silk. By the way...most omnis would consider an insect an animal so vegans should be able to do that too. I can't count the number of non-veg people that way it makes no sense to eat dairy or honey if you care about animals. VEGANS should be smarter than that. As for the beekeeper chances are his bees don't live the way they should be living. They should be a part of nature...not protected from being food and they should also have to work to find food.

I don't see the difference between killing insects, but not using their food for honey because SOME bees are "slaves." To me, thats like saying I don't agree with people abusing animals, but I agree with eating them for food.

You may be a vegan who does not consume honey, but, from the posts I have read, I am sure there are plenty of vegans who do on this board. A vegan is not defined any differently just because he consumes honey.

I guess we both just have different opinions about this.

Its more of the harvesting them thats the issue. I have no problem with cheetahs hunting antelope but if cheetahs learned from us and bred them to rape them of their natural lives then I'd have a problem with it. Eat bugs but get them yourself...and if you want honey go out and find a hive and dig your hand in there without a bee suit on.

Its more of the harvesting them thats the issue. I have no problem with cheetahs hunting antelope but if cheetahs learned from us and bred them to rape them of their natural lives then I'd have a problem with it. Eat bugs but get them yourself...and if you want honey go out and find a hive and dig your hand in there without a bee suit on.

Thats like telling people they should grow all of their own fruits and vegetables and stop buying them from farmers markets too. Simply unrealistic to some people.

Growing plants on land that has already been destroyed(from clearcutting or pasture) is lazy but fine since nobody is being forced to do anything. Bees make these things for themselves not for us. If they made it for us they would give it to us.

Growing plants on land that has already been destroyed(from clearcutting or pasture) is lazy but fine since nobody is being forced to do anything. Bees make these things for themselves not for us. If they made it for us they would give it to us.

Not exactly. Plants are made for us to eat, but they don't walk to our houses so we can eat them. Bee honey is there, and it can be used for human consumption. It's not like they don't make honey anyway. The farmers works hard enough to produce bee honey. It's not like people just sit around and egt rich off of it. Most people work hard to make money, so I don't see a problem buying honey if they're paying for it with hard-earned money- just as if they worked hard to get the honey.

Yes and its not like cows don't make milk anyway if they are in captivity. If you want honey get it from wild bees. If you want some raw milk go find some wild cattle somewhere and try to milk one of them. Anyway I wouldn't call farming honey hard work. I work harder than that for fun on my bike.

Yes and its not like cows don't make milk anyway if they are in captivity. If you want honey get it from wild bees. If you want some raw milk go find some wild cattle somewhere and try to milk one of them. Anyway I wouldn't call farming honey hard work. I work harder than that for fun on my bike.

In an ideal world we would grow our own food.

However, we don't live in an ideal world and most people do not have that much time. That is why almost everything is mass-produced in America.

If I want honey, I will buy it raw because I don't have the time to go out to the mountains and find honey. Same goes with fruit. Although I do grow half of my fruit that I consume in the summer, I still buy what I can't or have not yet grown due to my busy life.

If the worst mankind was doing was buying honey so that they can consume it, then we'd be doing pretty damn good.

I will continue to eat my honey.

Thing is honey is a very small sacrifice if anything it gets some extra sugar you don't need out of your body. And yes I admit if that were the worst of the world we'd be better off but in the mean time its very easy to make the world a bit better and avoid it...also keeping bees captive is bad for the environment or at least less good since bees don't pollinate the way they used to. So if you want to continue to eat honey go ahead but you aren't vegan while you do it...not vegetarian either.

Thing is honey is a very small sacrifice if anything it gets some extra sugar you don't need out of your body. And yes I admit if that were the worst of the world we'd be better off but in the mean time its very easy to make the world a bit better and avoid it...also keeping bees captive is bad for the environment or at least less good since bees don't pollinate the way they used to. So if you want to continue to eat honey go ahead but you aren't vegan while you do it...not vegetarian either.

Like I said, a vegan is someone who doesn't consume animal products, not insect byproducts. If someone who consumes honey isn't a "vegan" to you, then that is your opinion, not a fact. I'm sure that can be kept to yourself.