If you can explain a vegan way to get milk, meat, or honey then I’m all ears. You seem to be implying there is some gray area here.
No he’s implying that eating something just because it is “Vegan” is not understanding the point. Vegans usually don’t eat stuff because it’s bad for the environment or because they see animals as equal lifeforms and don’t want to cause them harm. If you don’t eat most animal products because of the environment then you might be ok with eating oysters on occasion. They have a similar co2 footprint as most vegetables. Similarly honey has an even smaller footprint.
That would make them an environmentalist then.
Veganism is about reducing the harm our actions cause. You can’t pick and choose pieces of it you like and say you are a vegan.
The point is that you shouldn’t base your decisions on whether or not you can say you are “vegan”. You should base your decisions on your own sense of ethics.
Whether or not beekeeping harms bees is a matter of debate. If a person believes honey is ethical, that’s their decision. Who gives a fuck if it meet someone else’s standard for a particular label?
My point is that there is no real way to explain what “vegan” really is, since it means different things to different people and all of these people have the best intentions. And actually there is no real need to define “vegan” either. Instead of focussing on what to call “vegan” and what not, the discussion should be about bees.
For instance, do they care if you take their honey? Are they harmed? And should I care about whether they are harmed?