Vegetarians haven't got a clue...?!
Vegetarians haven't got a clue...?
do vegetarians realise just how many foods and drinks contain rennet, gelatine, carmine, cochineal etc etc etc?
the reason for this question (rant) is in response to these people boycotting mars because mars have announced they use animal rennet. you wouldn't have known that if the company didn't tell you though would you?
i have nothing against people who dont eat meat but this talk of boycotting is just ridiculous. I bet theres millions of vegetarians out there who dont know they're eating 'part of an animal' because these ingredients are in a LOT of foods and drinks you wouldn't expect (and companies dont often tell you about)
If you boycotted every single food and drink on the market which contained "animal essence" you wouldn't be left with very much choice.
1 month ago
to angel - you are clearly the one lacking in the intelligence department, i am making a very valid point you ignorant little upstart. not everyone sees the world as you do - through you're evangelistic veggy sunglasses.
Answers:
1 month ago
to angel - you are clearly the one lacking in the intelligence department, i am making a very valid point you ignorant little upstart. not everyone sees the world as you do - through you're evangelistic veggy sunglasses.
I'm a vegetarian. I get what you're saying- so many foods are off-limits, things you wouldn't even think of... and there are some people who don't eat meat but don't really worry about this stuff.
For me, sure, some have slipped through the net, but that's no reason not to keep trying. I didn't realise Muller yogurts had gelatine in them until a few years ago, for example. But when I find out, I don't eat it again.
I always look for the V on food labels, it's just that sometimes you assume something is safe (like yogurt!) and don't think to check. I hope by now I know all the hidden ingredients but if I don't, it's not for a lack of trying.
Still, you can't say there's no point if you can't keep to it perfectly, 100% of the time, because accidents DO happen and people do not always get all the information they need.
I think the reason people want to boycott these foods is because it is just so unnecessary to put calves stomachs in chocolate, or pork gelatine in yogurt, or beetles shells in anything... it's one thing if someone insists on eating beef, cuz a cow HAS to die for that- and people who eat it have to deal with the fact- but they don't have to die to make a Mars bar, and for me that makes it even worse that they're willing to support animal slaughtering. Apparently they're willing to support killing animals in order to save a fraction of a pence per unit. It's sickening.
Excellent question/rant
That's why I actually read ingredients. It's the same as nut allergy sufferers really, or any kind of allergy. It's in a lot of things you don't expect, so just check.
its true vegetarians often dont know its there because they aren't told. this isnt right. every one should know whats in the food they buy.
Wouldnt it be better if they spent their time saving children instead of animals
there are vegetarians in the world who aren't that naive tho.....and they stick to whole foods and many don't eat anything that comes close to resembling a mars bar.
so you know....for whatever that's worth.
dont you have something better to do than annoy us. Thats why i check the ingredients
Water, organically grown veggies (but then manure would be used to fertilize it, which is from an animal).... uh, I can't think of anything else.
Both of my two (strict) vegetarian friends are very aware of this. They have very limited diets (and lifestyles, if you take into consideration the ethical veggie shoes, bags and other household items) and even have to avoid things like certain wines and beers, which are strained through fish products to 'purify' them, or contain gelatine to keep the consistency.
One of my pals is finding life in Aus really hard, as they don't really understand vegetarianism in the antipodes like we do here, even in the main cities - so she's been living off rice, tofu and toast!
I wouldn't have known about the animal rennet, because I'm not vegetarian myself and wouldn't bother to look at the packaging (doesn't worry me particularly, I eat cheese after all), but that's the kind of thing my friends would check.
I hope it's listed on their packets though, if not then that's just wrong! I think they're obliged to say if it's properly vegetarian or not by law anyway. One would hope so...
We know that there's stuff lurking in there, and try to learn but you can't know everything. When you do find something out, how stupid would it be to continue eating it with that knowledge?
i used to be a vegi myself. i discovered that vegis seem to think its a right to not eat and not see it as a privilege! some countries are not lucky enough to have the choice for people to not eat meat, as meat is the only thing that can eat! and i bet half thess people will kill a cow if there was nothing left to eat and they were staving! every vegi has the right idea when they start but seem to lose their point along the way! and its a real pain in the **** to cook for a vegi when they have all these rules and requiements=)
bloody spell check is not working...sorry
retired vegi=)
My girlfriend is a strict veggie and only eats certain foods, she knows about all the hidden animal products and it makes my life hell sometimes, the worse is when you read a veggie recipe and she points out the un-veggie ingredients.
I work for a chocolate company and a huge number of vegetarians call up just to be sure that the food is okay to eat.
I'm disappointed to hear you advocate the viewpoint that if you cannot do it all the time (e.g. avoid animal products) you shouldn't do it at all.
if you who are strong can eat meat and you find a brother who can not .do not eat meat while with him lest he sin .vegetarians find strength in caring as they feel is best and has nothing to do with anything except there dislike of the idie of animals dieing for our food .encourage them to follow there path without allowing there path to trample out yours
maybe if we make more stuff ourselves we would know what was in it: the problem with making things from scratch is that supermarkets tend not to stock so much scratch these days which is a good thing for me as I dislike them and scratch around for my scratch in ethnic shops and markets.
I'm a true omnivore I eat horse, ostrich, alligator squirrel kangaroo Guinea pigs, Guinea fowl, sea food, snails, all kinds of veg and if I wasn't a veggie once I wouldn't have learnt the skills to make my omnivorous food more interesting.
supermarkets are too powerful and if you have to use one use waitrose its quality not quantity that the British should be addressing.
A Vegetarian should check the ingredients and avoid anything containing any of the by-products. In my case I go down to avoiding individual E Numbers.
Actually, one point this does show is that in the 'western world' we are predominantly just mass 'consumers'. In countries that mostly have a vegetarian population, eg India, where the population are likely to be vegetarian from birth, you will find that most of the food is cooked and not bought ready-made in a carton or wrapper. This means natural and fresh ingredients as nature intended.
I would also say that when a vegetarian does slip up on an ingredient that amounts to a tiny fraction of a chocolate bar, this is still huge amounts better than the man eating a fresh steak thats just been cut from a slaughtered animal. The quantities we are talking about are tiny, compared to the lump of meat in a steak.
In this world all life exists on other life, we cannot walk or drive without killing - that is part and parcel of this creation. However we can choose to minimise the impact we have, and minimise the life that we take. One way most people do this is by becoming vegetarian or vegan, you only exist on products lower down the food chain with less sentient intelligence or awareness. You therefore cause less suffering to animals.
I doubt even the most astiduous vegan, or even fruitarian (only eating fruit and nuts and not killing the actual plant), will be able to go through life without consuming a part of an animal somewhere, somehow (even drinking water we swallow millions of tiny creatures). But their conscience will still be so much lighter than the man with the blood of a baby calf dripping from his mouth.
Also - I hate to have to say this but its a known fact that vegetarians tend to have a higher IQ. Perhaps thats why we can identify those items that have meat products in them :). See the link below.