21 responses to “update from cru on their honey policy!”

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  Cletus July 14th, 2010 at 21:36

  Yeah, hidden honey at Cru was a real problem from the start. The fact it wasn’t called on the menu until quarrygirl freaked out says a lot. Not sure if I can trust Cru again. Raw or not, calling something vegan and including hidden honey is despicable.

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  Jan July 14th, 2010 at 22:00

  What is the great agave controversy? I’ve been hearing lots of discussions about alternative sweetners lately. Is agave ‘cooked,’ like maple syrup, which is why it’s not raw?

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  Melisser July 15th, 2010 at 03:27

  Whooooa, I had no idea they had honey!

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  Gauri Radha July 15th, 2010 at 06:03

  I haven’t been to this place yet, but cool, that’s good to know. (I’d try to order non-honey items on the menu if I visited.)

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  Laurie July 15th, 2010 at 06:53

  I have been vegan for over 15 years but never enjoyed a raw restaurant until I ate at Cru. The use of honey is disappointing but if enough vegans (not just raw clientele) continued to dine at Cru you could influence change.

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  annaliese July 15th, 2010 at 07:20

  so sad that they will be using agave =(

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  tomatochild July 15th, 2010 at 08:17

  The agave nectar controversy is such a red herring. It’s too bad some of Cru’s customers have bought into the fake controversy regarding agave nectar.

  Jan: It all started with this very one-sided and incomplete article in NaturalNews.com:

  http://www.wellsphere.com/healthy-eating-article/madhava-s-craig-gerbore-responds-to-agave-nectar-controversy-here/584480

  Here’s a response from the president of Madhava, a major producer of agave nectar:

  http://www.wellsphere.com/healthy-eating-article/madhava-s-craig-gerbore-responds-to-agave-nectar-controversy-here/584480

  Using sweeteners is not inherently bad — only in their overruse. As far as I’m concerned, using a bit of agave nectar in my morning tea, or subbing it for cane sugar in an occasional baked good, will not bring on a health apocalypse. Let’s have some perspective here.

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  Zett July 15th, 2010 at 08:28

  Jan, here:

  http://www.naturalnews.com/024892_fructose_food_health.html

  Its an interesting read, that’s for sure. Not so sure it matters on a Vegan blog that’s more concerned with taste & veganocity (that’s a word, right?) than health benefits, though.

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  Kevin July 15th, 2010 at 08:42

  Good. We gave them shit about the honey last time we were there. Looks like it was a 2 month disaster for them. They used the bogus agave argument to justify the switch. Glad to see they’re going back.

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  frankie July 15th, 2010 at 08:42

  I went there a couple of times a few weeks ago on quarrygirl’s rec. the key lime pie is amaaazing & everything was delicious tho I did shy away from the honey. this place began my love affair w los angeles. props to both cru and quarrygirl!

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  Su July 15th, 2010 at 09:41

  So happy to hear this! When I yelped them recently, I said I probably wouldn’t be back until they went back to being a vegan restaurant. So, I’m sure this is all due to me.

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  Fat Fudge July 15th, 2010 at 10:35

  Honey really is very healthy; the only healthy sweetener is dates.

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  britt July 15th, 2010 at 10:49

  why have i been unaware of this vegan ice cream truck until now?

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  Schramm July 15th, 2010 at 11:09

  good thing they’re getting rid of honey. i’ve eaten their two times and it’s a great place, but honey? still?

  as far as all this mumbo jumbo about which sweetener is the healthiest, which has the lowest glycemic number, in essence it is all marketing. whether white sugar or sucanat type sugars are healthier, honey vs agave, at the molecular composition they are all the same molecules: glucose, fructose, galactose etc… oh wait, but micronutrients!
  ignoramus please.

  as far as information found on the web about these issues, it is largely a tangled mess of misinformation, even on the part of many authors. sifting through simple documents on “sugar issues” “honey vs. agave” “glycemic” is an exercise in futility.

  none of them are healthy despite what all the hippy pseudoscientists may argue. and the relative healthiness of one vs. the other has not been demonstrated with any sort of scientific rigor, or by anyone with real credentials.

  and since this is:
  QG: “awesome vegan news and reviews”
  honey isn’t vegan, which equals “===” enough said

  man i wish i lived closer to CRU, i’m hungry!

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  veganinla July 15th, 2010 at 12:11

  I used to love Cru but stopped going a couple of years ago. They used honey and then said they were taking it out except for a few items but the staff was unclear which items had it. Now it seems I can go back and have some great food. Thanks for the update.

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  TJ July 15th, 2010 at 12:57

  If Cru can’t use agave because it pisses off the raw foodists and they can’t use honey because it makes the vegans go batshit, what are they supposed to do? If we want these kinds of restaurants to stick around to be able to provide at least SOME vegan options and SOME raw food options for us there has to be a little give and take. By forcing them to choose one side or the other you’re forcing them to shun half of their customer base and with half of sales, half of profits, they’ll be run into the ground and you’ll have zero options instead of 50%. Would you rather have the choice of half of a menu or a side of fries at an omni restaurant praying that they’re using a dedicated frier?

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  Cortney July 15th, 2010 at 13:11

  I have to be honest, honey is the one thing that I have a hard time having an ethical issue with. Bees are carted all over the U.S. to aid in crop production- even on organic crops- and most of the organic farmer’s market vendors that sell veggies and fruit also sell honey from the bees from their farm. It’s hard for me to see how eating the honey is any more exploitative than eating fruits and veggies and grains grown by shipping bees all over and exploiting them.

  In all sincerity, if anyone could help me unpack this issue- point me to some articles, or studies, or in depth ethical issues with bees- I would greatly appreciate it.

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  Gauri Radha July 15th, 2010 at 14:55

  “why have i been unaware of this vegan ice cream truck until now?”

  I was just wondering the same thing! Jeez. I might even have to join Twitter again just to keep up with all these lunch trucks that have vegan options. Yea, that’s not pathetic at all. Haha.

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  Tigre July 15th, 2010 at 15:06

  @tomatochild, thank you so much for the Madhava response link.
  I have met a lot of people of late, especially raw foodists, that have fallen for the propaganda put forth by people like Ramiel Nagel
  http://www.naturalnews.com/024892_fructose_food_health.html
  who is also in cahoots with Weston A. Price, who basically preaches that a) free range eggs, raw milk, raw butter, grassfed animal organs, fish and shellfish are nutrient dense foods b) veganism is super unhealthy c) a vegetarian diet makes you gay

  Sadly, the raw foodists complaining to Cru that agave is bad are just regurgitating info they hear from others that are regurgitating. Agave from good sources is raw and lower glycemic.

  @Schramm, I lived with a dietitian who worked with Dr Jenkins from University of Toronto, the guy that discovered the glycemic index that assists regulating healthy blood sugar levels.
  I wouldn’t say drink a bucket of agave/day, but relative to other sweeteners it is better blood sugar wise.

  So raw people can relax, agave is not a scam. And for sweeteners Cru can also use dates, apricots, raisins, figs, coconut water…

  But yes, no excuses for using honey :T)

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  VeggieOut July 15th, 2010 at 16:06

  Vegan honey is not just a myth folks. I remember my grandmother making this all the time when I was little.

  http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/beeless-honey/Detail.aspx

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  lex July 15th, 2010 at 19:48

  agave/sugar its all the same. People are crazy if they think HFCS is killing them and not the grease covered garbage they consume. I’d volunteer to eat nothing but agave and HFCS for a month (or longer) if it’d make the world shut up about them.

  Honey is bee vomit, its gross and its robbed from the bees who work really hard to collect it and keep our food supply moving, we replace it with pesticide filled corn syrup and wonder why they die… just like cows milk is for baby cows honey is for bees. (i’d be eating organic HFCS during my month on it, lol)