From an article about trying veganism on the Serious Eats blog, here are several foods that contain Surprise Animals.1. Beer and wine. Some (not all) alcoholic beverages are clarified using gelatin, isinglass (fish bones), or milk protein.
2. Dry roasted nuts. A few manufacturers (Planters, for example) will coat the nuts with a very thin spray of gelatin in order to get the salt and seasonings to stick in an even layer. Some sunflower seed packagers use this trick as well.
3. Non-dairy creamer. Yes, seriously, while calling it non-dairy appears to mean that it doesn't contain actual milk, it still can contain small amounts of milk solids for flavor. Coffee-mate ingredients: "Water, corn syrup solids, partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil, and less than 2% of sodium caseinate (a milk derivative)**, dipotassium phosphate, mono- and diglycerides, sodium aluminosilicate, artificial flavor, carrageenan. **Not a source of lactose." So it's lactose free, but not actually vegan.
4. Refined sugar. In order to remove impurities, white sugar is processed with bone char.
5. WATER. Again, bone char may have been used by your local water plant to filter your drinking water. Oops.
I'm not saying that veganism is pointless, mind you. But it's apparently much more difficult than I had thought to be rigorous about it.
6. Bacon. Bacon may contain some pork products. And while I was willing to give up alcohol, sugar and water... I just can't part with this delicious and apparently not-vegan-friendly treat.
ReplyDeleteThe thing about veganism is that there are hidden animals all over the place. We try to avoid what we can control in order to make a difference. For the squeamish vegans, we avoid anything we know to contain animal products--but this is within reason. I've never heard of a vegan avoiding charcoal at a BBQ because there might be some dinosaur matter in there somewhere. (OK, I know, it's mostly plants, but...) It also doesn't sense to avoid water or health-preserving medication. Fortunately, as awareness increases, there are tons of free guides available (http://www.barnivore.com/ for vegan alcohol, for instance) to make it easier. An increasing number of companies are choosing to have their products vegan-certified (the little "V" you see on some packages). And there are even some decent bacon substitutes out there...btw, did you know Bacos are "accidentally vegan"?
ReplyDeleteIt's a tricky issue, though, especially if you're being vegan for moral reasons instead of practical or medical ones. Obviously, if you're doing it because you simply think it's healthier, you won't sweat the small stuff, but if you're seriously dedicated to the non-exploitation of animals, how do you draw the line?
DeleteBarnivore was also mentioned in the article I linked. Apparently, they're a well-regarded resource.
You do the absolute best you can. I'm sort of doing it for all the reasons, myself, and I am a purist--but I'm not going to stop drinking water. So what you do is you use the stuff you need to use (medication, condoms, whatever) and make different choices wherever there are choices. And you contact companies and let it be known that there is a problem. Many have started to reformulate things. The world isn't static and we can influence it. Meanwhile, we do the best we can. For most of us, that means avoiding food products that obviously contain animals (I'm looking at you, bacon-lusters!) and doing our best to avoid those that may or may not have interacted with an animal product (I choose turbinado sugar when I am baking in my own kitchen, but don't avoid all products with sugar because how can I? and because not all sugars are bone-char processed).
DeleteI read the article and think it's interesting stuff. I especially like what the guy has to say about labeling things as "vegan" when they're really just "food." Lots of things we eat all the time are vegan (pasta and marinara sauce; tofu stir-fry) or easily made vegan if you choose the right ingredients. Vegan doesn't equal health food and doesn't preclude gourmet deliciousness.
Thanks for posting, Dan. Good "food for thought"...
Not a food product, but unlubricated condoms. Whey powder is traditionally used to keep the latex from sticking to itself. I know that for a while there was a small company using cocoa powder instead for just this reason.
ReplyDeleteOh, was THAT the reason...
DeleteAnd I can't resist posting about the flip side, accidental veganity. For example: http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/Accidentally-Vegan.aspx
ReplyDeleteYep, Bacos are vegan. Stuffed with chemicals and weirdness, but vegan.