Question for vegans...?!
I'm just starting out in the vegan lifestyle!. Question tho, if a food has traces of animal product in it, I can't eat it can I!? I saw in an article that it was okay to eat dark chocolate!. Dark chocolate still has milk in it tho! And I checked out a bag of Chex Mix (the original kind) and even that has some milk in it!. Is there like, different levels of vegan ism or what!? Most cookie dough at the store has it too!. I don't know, just give me some guidelines or something!. Thanks!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Answers:
Whats the point of being vegan if you are only doing it for the title!? People ask me why I eat fish but dont eat red meat and chicken, and then explain to me how Im not vegetarian because of that!. I dont really care if Im vegetarian or not, I eat what I want to eat, they can keep the vegetarian title!. Eat what you want to eat, dont just stop eating things to fit into a title!. You said "I cant eat it can I" like as if you are trying to fit into the description of what a vegan is!. The question is, Do you want to eat something that has animal traces in it or not!? Its not about what the laws of being vegan said, its about your preference and your choices!. Www@FoodAQ@Com
There are some kinds of Dark Chocolate you can eat, but most of the popular brands like Hershey's have skim milk or milk fat so you wouldn't be able to eat that!. You pretty much have to check every single label every time because some things that you wouldn't think would have animal products in them do, and even if you saw once that they didn't that doesn't mean that that is going to stay that way!. All store bought cookie dough is going to have eggs and milk in them, unless you get them from a health foods store they could possibly have some that is Vegan!. Pretty much ever food is made in a factory that also processes milk, eggs and nuts!. That is just a choice you make on your own whether or not that affects you!. Hope this helps!Www@FoodAQ@Com
I think the best way to make this transition, is to do it at your own pace!. Look at it as a long term way of life!. Don't beat yourself up, if you get a product home, and find out that one of the ingredients is animal derived!. You'll know more for next time!. Label reading can seem overwhelming at first!. A good example is, I was eating certain bakery products for a while, before I discovered that Datem, mono, and diglycerides are usually animal derived!. Lastly, I think you can define yourself as a "vegan" any way you want!. I think there are too many militant vegetarians and vegans!. I believe we are all doing the best we can at any given time, and all share the same general goals!. When things seem to get you down, remember all the good that you are doing, for the environment, your health, and the animals!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
vegans try to avoid as much as possible anything that is from animals!.
there is vegan substitutes for alot of the snacks with dairy in it!.
there is soy dark chocolate at whole foods that tastes just like milk chocolate!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
there is vegan substitutes for alot of the snacks with dairy in it!.
there is soy dark chocolate at whole foods that tastes just like milk chocolate!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
veganism is very absolute!. Anything less is just vegetarianism!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
vegan- no animal anything!.!.!.so pretty much just what grows from the ground!.
vegitarian- no meatWww@FoodAQ@Com
vegitarian- no meatWww@FoodAQ@Com
Vegans don't eat animal products!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
there are varying degrees of veganism!. You need to decide how far you'll go with it!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
I don't know if you will agree but this is what I do!.
No one can be perfectly vegan!. Try as hard as you can!.
I don't contain animals BUT (the big BUT) if it says 'may contain traces of milk, eggs, etc' I find that that is only for people with severe allergies, so they don't get sued!.
Whey, casein, etc!. are ingredients so I avoid them!. Being made on the same machine as animal ingredients does not mean I am eating it or supporting it!. It just means the company think it is too big of a risk to not put it!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
No one can be perfectly vegan!. Try as hard as you can!.
I don't contain animals BUT (the big BUT) if it says 'may contain traces of milk, eggs, etc' I find that that is only for people with severe allergies, so they don't get sued!.
Whey, casein, etc!. are ingredients so I avoid them!. Being made on the same machine as animal ingredients does not mean I am eating it or supporting it!. It just means the company think it is too big of a risk to not put it!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
I work in a grocery store so I know this-
If the ingredients list does not say milk ingredients, whey, casein, lactose or anything else on it, you can be fairly sure that it is dairy free!.
On many packages after the ingredients list there is a warning saying "may contain traces of" milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, shellfish etc!.
This is a warning that means either the food was made using equipment shared by foods with dairy, eggs, nuts, etc!. Manufacturers put these warnings there so people with bad allergies can avoid those foods!.
Chocolate will almost always have traces of milk in it even if it's not added deliberately, unless it's at a dedicated vegan factory!. This is because chocolate is really hard to clean from mixers, and traces of milk chocolate remain in the machinery!.
Watch out when you're buying dark chocolate!. Super-cheap dark chocolate usually doesn't have milk in it, but cheap chocolate like hershey's almost always has milk, no matter the percentage of cocoa!.
Just look at the ingredients lists!. If there's whey, lactose, casein, or "milk ingredients" in it, you know it's not vegan!. I always look at the ingredients first, then at the nutritional info- if there's no cholesterol, it's usually vegan- and then I look on the front for a sign saying kosher or pareve!. These are good indications that it's totally vegan!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
If the ingredients list does not say milk ingredients, whey, casein, lactose or anything else on it, you can be fairly sure that it is dairy free!.
On many packages after the ingredients list there is a warning saying "may contain traces of" milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, shellfish etc!.
This is a warning that means either the food was made using equipment shared by foods with dairy, eggs, nuts, etc!. Manufacturers put these warnings there so people with bad allergies can avoid those foods!.
Chocolate will almost always have traces of milk in it even if it's not added deliberately, unless it's at a dedicated vegan factory!. This is because chocolate is really hard to clean from mixers, and traces of milk chocolate remain in the machinery!.
Watch out when you're buying dark chocolate!. Super-cheap dark chocolate usually doesn't have milk in it, but cheap chocolate like hershey's almost always has milk, no matter the percentage of cocoa!.
Just look at the ingredients lists!. If there's whey, lactose, casein, or "milk ingredients" in it, you know it's not vegan!. I always look at the ingredients first, then at the nutritional info- if there's no cholesterol, it's usually vegan- and then I look on the front for a sign saying kosher or pareve!. These are good indications that it's totally vegan!.Www@FoodAQ@Com