How’d that get in there?
2 Feb
Someone asked me if I would write a little about the vegan products I recommend, but I thought as a precursor to that I should talk a little bit about the things I avoid.
First there are the obvious cosmetic related things I’ve mentioned before :
Then there are some not so obvious stuff that comes up in health and beauty aids.
Glycerin -
It’s not just a song by Bush. Glycerin is liquid most often used (in simplest terms) for it’s viscosity, it’s slicker then water, and as a humectent, it’s wetter then water. However, there are several types of glycerin. Vegetable based, which is most often derived from refining plant based cooking oils. Synthetic, which is man made. But there is also the third animal based version which also comes from animal tallow when refining it to make soap. Unless something specifically says it’s plant based, there isn’t really a way to look at them and tell them apart. However, the use of animal based glycerin is fading out, however some high end soaps still use it (ie Fight Club)
You know, Jell-O, Jelly, the stuff you make jams out of? It’s made from collagen inside animals’ skin and bones. So when you send a horse to the glue factory, they, you know, use all of him, including those bones. Although hooves aren’t actually used in gelatin.
Ok, so you say you can avoid gelatin by avoiding Jell-o and eating jams and jellies made from fruit based pectin. Well, you also have to be mindful of over the counter gellcaps, marshmallows, yogurts, and certain cheeses (but if you’re being vegan, you’re avoiding those already, right?!)
Some gelatin derived from fish is still used to distill beers and wines and clarifying juices. You can also find it coating paper, snuck into cosmetics as hydrolyzed collagen, and in a lot of hair gels.
Yes, it’s still in a lot of glues, too, but not in most common household products anymore.
Ok, put down the donuts with sprinkles. You know what those sprinkles are made of? Bugs. Lots of food glazes (such as the shells on Skittles) are made from shellac which is a bug resin like secretion that’s processed into either food based or household based uses. The ‘major’ vegan donuts company in LA was recently closed down when it was discovered they were using shellac based jimmies on their products.
The bugs are basically in the same family as the cochineal, which is the carmine bug.
It’s used in a lot of other things as well, such as waxes, antique records had a high concentration of shellac, plastics, and binders in a lot of inks.
This is something a lot of vegan even miss. Bone char is used to process and refine sugar and sometimes water. It’s easy to avoid bone bleached sugar by checking the bag or checking this nifty list. Bet you didn’t realize you were getting a little dose of ground up bone in your morning Starbucks.
Tags: vegan
I am in no way a Vegan, however, your info is really helpful. So.. all those beauty products loaded with claims like Collagen actually come from animals? The more I think about it though – I am reminded how we get “clean” water and how they’re treated with waste.. we dump our wastes in the ocean/land, and circulating… toxic components underground.. Well, I guess I don’t want to think much anymore… I never knew skittles’ colors are made from bugs, O:)
There are some plant based collagen used in a lot of products. The secret is researching which ones…
I had no idea about the candy shells or the jimmies. Those are things that, quite honestly, would never cross my mind as containing animal by-products. Thanks for such an informative list!
Not sprinkles! i love them
but now im kinda disgusted that i didn’t know that…
It’s sort of gross, but you can find some that aren’t made from shellac, but certainly most places will use them that buy them in bulk, they are cheaper.
Can I ask you how you feel about pleather? I know as a vegan you wouldn’t use leather. Someone pointed out that since pleather is made from oil some believe that it is much less eco-friendly. I’m a vegetarian and I try to avoid leather but often it’s hard too find a good replacement that won’t break easy.
Pleather when used in what?
If you mean pants, then I am against pleather. But in general I wear and use alternatives, such as use canvas (Converse shoes, reusable totes) or man made synthetics. I’m not really into the leather ‘look’.
I don’t think there is, both practically and ethically, a way to be 100% correct. I’m vegan for health reasons and because I personally don’t want to eat bugs or animal products (not for any environmental reasons). But I also know that practically, some alternatives might be just as ‘questionable’ to those earth friendly green people who do claim things like ‘soy is overly genetically modified’ (in my defense, I don’t like soy anyway) or like you mentioned, the alternative is plastics.
However, not all pleather or animal friendly leathers are made the same, and it’s not all PVC based anymore. Ethical vegan companies use eco safe alternatives now. I can’t comment on them for wear, though, I don’t hike, or work where I need sturdy shoes, etc etc.
Most are reusable and made from recyclable materials, so if I carefully recycle everything I can, will that save the planet?
I was just curious. I’m trying hard to go vegan. But, unfortunately I come from a house full of meat lovers and hunters. I’m constantly bombarded with dozen of questions, most of which I can’t answer to satisfy anyone. Lately the big question in my house has been about pleather.
I hope I didn’t offend you by asking, I was just curious as to what your thoughts were on it.
Oh no, not at all!!
I’m sure you could Google around and find more informative answers with with facts and science.
In an ecology class, of all places, I met a vegan girl who had a pair of faux snake skin pumps. She had no ethical qualms because no actual serpents were harmed in the manufacture of the shoes. Still, I always wondered how she expected people to know that. They looked almost exactly like real snake skin, so it appeared to everyone around her that she supports decidedly non-vegan ideals. Especially since she was vegan for environmental reasons, I found it to be kinda hypocritical. Luckily, most of the vegans I’ve come across ‘t seem to be much more thoughtful/less ditzy than that girl!
I guess shoes was kind of what I was thinking about when I asked about pleather. This winter I’ve been having a hard time finding a really good pair of winter boots and was searching for a good pair of gloves. I had always gotten leather boots before and all the pleather boots I’ve found I just knew wouldn’t last for more than one season
I did get a great pair of gloves though.
I don’t quite agree with the sentiment. I was vegan am primarily veg, but I do like how some styles look (like patent leather). I suppose some people argue why do vegetarians eat seitan or other meat alternatives if they abhor meat. Same situation. I personally don’t have a problem with fakes or alternatives, but I can see why some people do.
I think every little bit helps, tbqh. If someone isn’t veg but goes veg once a week, awesome.
But I’m also of the school of using up instead of throwing out, so if someone has a pair of leather boots after going veg, I would have no issues if he/she wore them until they fell apart, so there wouldn’t be a need to go out and buy something new.
I think every little bit helps. No one is perfect. I was vegan, recycled like crazy, and was very careful in my purchases; I quickly burned myself out. I still do the same but not to the same extent. I mean, my workplace didn’t recycle, so I would take the entire building’s trash and sort through it and recycle it on my personal time. That’s one instance, but in the end, I’m aware that I’m just accountable for myself (and that’s more than enough) — but I try to help out others and do what I can, too.
I should’ve been more clear. It was this chick’s sanctimonious attitude that made her shoes seem particularly wrong. Wearing a PETA shirt with snakeskin shoes, even if they’re fake, is going to send a conf-licting message to casual observers. If you’re going to use your clothes to make the statement that using animal products is evil, I think you should make sure you’re not wearing anything that resembles skin other than your own. Perhaps it was her activism that was hypocritical, not her veganism.
thanks for the info, Grey!
I’m not vegan but I lean towards it when I can, because I know its better for me. I actually was vegan for about three years when I was in grade school, but then my mom got pregnant, so yeah…
Anyway, this is really interesting. I’m glad I don’t like sprinkles or skittles, because if I did this post may have ruined them for me. lol
A lot of people think Skittles are vegan. A lot of VEGANS do. I’m actually not much of a candy person, so I guess I’m lucky!
Thank you, that was most informative. I knew about shellac and gelatin, but the glycerin thing I had never heard of, though I was aware that tallow is used in soap.
I’m also very glad that I only use beet and demerara sugar…
It’s one of those little things some vegans care about, some don’t. It’s so hard to eat out as a vegan, even when things SAY vegan, you can’t be certain the baker/cook/chef knows the ins and outs of all this little stuff.
Another ingredient to be aware of is squalane!
It’s traditionally derived from shark liver. However, olive squalane has increased a bit more in popularity due to ethics.
I probably have a whole second post on some of the other stuff I’ve just remembered.
OMG… seriously?! I can never look at Skittles the same way again. And I don’t eat a lot of Jell-O anyway, but that’s just nasty as hell. And -GASP- are M & M coatings the bug resin too?
You know, I have no idea about M&M’s, I don’t eat them anyway. I should find out…
Wow. I’m not Vegan, but this was still a pretty cool and informative post…
For anyone Vegan out there (or people just concerned with animal welfare, like I am), I’ve recently come across this Jello-replacing product:
http://shopping.maryjanesfarm.org/s.nl/it.A/id.1442/.f
It’s called “chillover powder”. I haven’t tried it myself, but apparently it’s Vegan, and you can use it instead of Jello for desserts and canning. I guess it’s especially good for people who grew up on all those nifty Jello desserts, only to find that they were eating horse bones!
I looks like it’s just straight agar-agar, which I do use as an alternative for puddings and stuff, too!!
Agar-agar is fantastic stuff! I get mine at the local Asian market, where it’s super-affordable. I’m working on making the ultimate vegan chocolate pudding for a friend of mine; she adored the mango-coconut pudding I took to a dinner party recently and everyone else was surprised there was such a good alternative to gelatin around.
I’ve been a vegan since I was a teenager. Also not for any specific political/environmental reasons, but simply because the idea of eating animals/animal by-products just does not appeal to me. This list is great for people that may be starting out, but are unsure of what to look for when scanning the back of a box for the ingredients.
I’m trying not to be ‘that preachy vegan’.
Whoa. I didn’t know half of that stuff. I’m not a vegan, but I do try to keep kosher to some extent, so I like to know what’s what (not that I feel bound to do it, it’s just a personal choice). Some of the stuff you mentioned here raises some interesting questions for me
thanks!
Kosher seems just as complicated!!
Haha, it can be if you go into the full list of rules and what various rabbis have decided…but ultimately I like to make my own mind up about what I personally count as kosher.
For example, I read somewhere that gelatine is ‘officially’ pareve (classed as neither meat nor dairy) because it’s been chemically changed so much that it no longer counts as a ‘meat’ product, but realising that it could come from pig skin makes me a bit hesitant about eating it at all. I don’t know where to start with shellac; I know bugs are classed as non-kosher, but ‘bug-products’? I have no idea.
is bone char used in raw sugar?
I think it’s used to remove the color from the sugar, so I don’t think raw sugar requires the use of bone char. Most sugars that are safe for vegans will usually say so on the bag somewhere, though
Raw sugar should be safe. But if it just says ‘brown sugar’ it’s probably been bleached and ‘re-dyed’ with molasses. Demerara sugar is unrefined, too.
Grey, do you find it hard being a vegan in terms of food choices. There just seems so much you can’t eat! Is it challenging or have you found it’s just part of your day to day now?
You’re looking at it the wrong way. It’s not foods I *can’t* eat, it’s foods I don’t *want* to eat.
So no, I have no trouble at all eating. I just skip fast food, which is junk anyway, cook more meals on my own, which is easier. I eat lots of delicious fresh foods, actually more then someone on a normal diet could in terms of amount versus calories. That is, sometimes I can go a whole day eating and still not hit the calories some ‘regular’ eaters get in just their morning breakfast.
There are vegan grocery store, restaurants, bars…
oo i just did some research and discovered the leading sugar company in New Zealand has been bone char free since 2003
Well, for those who don’t want to avoid bugs on moral reasons, but just think bugs are EW!gross, I’d suggest this link. This entry isn’t bad either. In short, bugs in our food are as natural and fair trade as it gets.
Very informative post. Thank you!
Thank you so much for writing this!
Shellac = EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
And the sugar, gross too.
I wonder if it’s in raw cane sugar, or the sugar in the raw stuff.
Raw should be fine. It’s the processing and the bleaching that has char in it.
Honestly, I haven’t even HAD sugar in the house in years. I switched to agave.
It’s funny how people smugly claim that vegans must carefully watch their diet. These same people probably don’t get enough vegetables. My suspicion is vegans probably pay the amount of attention one should to their diet.
BTW, Daiya. Yes it is that good.
I honestly don’t have to pay attention, cause you’re right, we just eat better to begin with.