Hi. I'm pretty much stopped eating meat since December 10, 2004. However I still eat gelatin such as Lucky Charms, Count Chocula and Smores poptarts. I find it difficult giving up gelatin compared to meat. Since gelatin is a by product of the industry, am I supporting/ does the meat industry get money from gelatin products? If so what percentage? Does anyone have some good motivation tips/idea for me to stop eating gelatin?

It's up to you if you want to continue to eat gelatin.
Some vegetarians eat it, as it is not "meat" per se.
Many do not, as an animal must be killed in order for gelatin to be obtained.
Eating gelatin-based products probably doesn't directly send your money to the meat industry, but IMO it is similar to, say, having chicken broth in a rice mix. Or lard in my refried beans. It's not "meat" but an animal still died to create the product.

As for stopping, well... can you find other cereals that dont' have marshmallows? What about muesli type cereals? Maybe find some bulk cereals that are cheap. What about ones like Trix and Fruit Loops and Life etc? Fruity Pebbles?

The non-frosted pop tarts dont' have gelatin in them. If you like the frosted stuff, I think there are some cereal bars with "yogurt" coatings on them that might be similar to what you like.

good luck! I'm sure others will have lots of other ideas. :)

Thanks. I've never tried Mueslix. I buy Fruit Loops sometimes. I might pick up Trix at the store. As for yogurt bars, thanks for the idea. I might buy sometime although I prefer cereals in general they are cheaper. I was wondering if the meat industry gets any money or little bit 1 per cent of the money from a box of Count Chocula? Because I heard when you buy a hamburger from a restaurant the meat industry gets some of the money. So I was wondering if this is similar. Chicken stock taste meaty. I like the fluffiness, sweetness and taste of marshmallows, pop tart icing over meat taste especially since stop eating meat. I was wondering if anyone else gotten a sweet tooth since stop eating meat because I think I have.

especially_ miffy was that? you missed out a descriptive i think?

where you say... "pop tart icing over meat especially_".....

ETA: oh nevermind I see now what you mean OVER MEAT as in your prefer sweet stuff INSTEAD/IN PLACE OF meat ? right I think I get it, lol I thought you meant ON meat :doh:

ETA2:
Do you ever envisage NOT having a sweet tooth?... or reducing the addiction or keen taste for it?

For sweetness of things, (and fat and energy)_why not simply find some bone char free
raw cane/natural/--unfiltered/unclarified-- (unrefined)/unwhitened brown-ish sugar?

Oh sorry. Basically I was saying how I like poptarts and marshmallows more than meat/ chicken stock/chicken flavored rice/chicken soups. I've tried apple cinnamon poptarts. They are good. They are the only unfrosted ones I could find in the store.

Since you mentioned wanting to lose some weight in another thread, it might be good for you to start eating some healthier cereals that do not contain gelitan. You could eat any of the Kashi cereals, Health Valley or Nature' Path cereals, oatmeal, granola, Cheerios, bran cereals, Grape Nuts, shredded wheat, etc. :)

Thanks for your help next time I go shopping I can read some of the labels of cereal and choose healthier ones. One of my favorite cereals is Harvest Crunch. It is about half fat so it might not be a good choice though. Good idea perhaps only sweet stuff mainly on weekends.

Hi CarrotCake

You were looking for some reasons to not eat gelatin, right? Well, here are some reasons that I don't eat it:

1. It is made from boiled up bones and hooves etc. from dead animals

2. Reason no. 1 is pretty gross ;)

3. I don't know if you eating one pack of poptarts that contain gelatin will contribute significantly to the meat
industry, but when you add up all the packs (and other things) you eat over your lifetime, this probably will.

Also, a lot of animal byproducts (such as gelatin, blood etc.) are classed as hazardous waste (at least in Europe), so
if the meat industry did not have a purchaser for them (such as the food industry) they would then have
to dispose of them in a specialist facility, such as an incinerator, which would increase the cost of producing
the meat, which would be bad for the industry. So if you don't consume products that contain these
ingredients, you will decrease the market for these products, which means that less will be made, less
byproducts will be bought by the food industry, etc. (sorry this is getting very long-winded and hard to
follow - it makes sense in my head though!!)

Basically, what I was trying to say is if you don't buy products with animal byproducts in them, the meat
industry _will_ make less money.

I hope at least some of that made sense!

If this helps any, marshmellow fluff rarely ever contains gelatin (always read your labels just to be sure) and vegan marshmellows are available online or you could make your own: http://www.vegan-food.net/index.cgi?144

I recommend that you try to eat more healthfully. Try eating some whole grain cereal with raisons and bananas (or any other fruits or berries you happen to like) for a couple weeks then trying the processed stuff. I'm pretty sure you'll find it doesn't hold the appeal it once did.

Another interesting fact about gelatin: It is the only animal sourced dietary protein that is not complete (doesn't have all 8 essential amino acids).

I used to LOVE Count Chocula & Lucky Charms & Junior Mints. Gelatin is even in vitamin casings. I find it to be really gross like a hot dog (1st thing I gave up almost 20 yrs ago). It's like the leftovers of all the other stuff that people usually don't eat. It's really up to you but if you want to be a vegetarian you need to rule out the gelatin. You have to be willing to make the sacrifice & find other substitutes.

Yes. Thanks. I really liked explanation #3 about the incinerator and cost of meat. I prefer Count Chocula to Lucky Charms and I think Reese's Puffs would be a good substitute. As for a substitute for frosted poptarts I think unfrosted poptarts, donuts, muffins, bread with jam, toaster strudels, cake, cereal with fruit and chocolate cereals, dunkaroos are good choices.

Just wondering...why is it soo bad to eat things like that? Sorry if ima gonna dumb to ask, but i hear alot of it and was just asked to finaly answer my quiestion. ^^

Well it is from dead animals kind of like meat. I don't think there is as big of a demand for gelatin as meat though. Some people believe that gelatin could contain BSE. Gelatin is probably not very nutrititious, low in protein as it is made from fat, hooves, bone, acid. As for it being bad well it shouldn't really bad as long as it is in moderation like potato chips. Since some products such as skittles and starburst used gelatin I thought the company purchases it rather cheaply from the meat industry, so the meat industry could make money from it but a small piece compared to if you purchased a hamburger from a restaurant.

Just wondering...why is it soo bad to eat things like that? Sorry if ima gonna dumb to ask, but i hear alot of it and was just asked to finaly answer my quiestion. ^^

They are only bad when compared to really healthy stuff like whole grains, which in the long run are far superior to things like Reeses Puffs. And I know you may not believe me, but whole grains and healthy foods in general really do make you feel better and they DO taste better. Many of my friends who started eating healthy for weight loss reasons told me that the flavor is unbelievable once you keep eating "health foods". I even had an overweight 9-year-old say that to me without prodding.

Sugar in moderation isn't bad. It won't "make you fat"---overeating will. It's not about weight or even about health because sugar won't kill you. But, compared to the ultimate "good stuff"...yeah, they are much worse for you. Moderation is key.

Reese's Puffs are my favorite cereal. Peanut butter on whole grain toast sounds good. I know Reese's Puff is kind of low in protein only 2 grams per serving probably because it is mostly sugar. I've heard that before where people lose their cravings for junk foods when they go on certain diets.

Well...I like to eat my share of the sugah. :D But, nothing can compare to the satisfaction of eating delicious, whole, healthy food.

how so? taste? health? both?

I personally dont eat gelatin, but if you do that's your personal choice I believe. I don't believe that you are any less of a vegetarian.

Wow! I didn't know that the thought was out there that gelatin contained BSE! Interesting! I personally also don't care for gelatin for the same reasons as nkace, it's just like the leftovers that no one really wants to eat and what really grosses me out is that is IS made of the boiled skin and hooves of animals. You know what it reminds me of? It's kinda gross, but you know how you can have peeling skin and it's a bit pliable and soft? I think of myself chewing that if I would ever eat gelatin. I just think of eating dead skin I guess. Ewwey.... now I just grossed myself out..... lol.:p

Yeah I didn't think so either until I was looking around for info on gelatin when I looked up gelatin on wikipedia. It said there might be a chance and they aren't really sure. I think it would be a lot safer than beef. Basically I reread stuff on gelatin it tells that it has not much nutritional value. I never really thought about it until you mention it about how it is like skin peeling off. It seems kind of gross when you think about it. Thanks for thinking of the idea. Then I went here http://www.vegparadise.com/news39.html. It makes me sad it is in so many products especially like frostings and frosted mini wheats.

Since gelatin is supposedly almost flavorless why do so many companies use products with gelatin? Wouldn't it be beneficial to make products without such as gelatin free frosted mini wheats?

it serves a function. It goes into the texture and consistency of the food.

For example, have you ever had gelatin-free gummy bears? not the same at all. Good, but not the same.

Lots of stuff I'm sure could be made gelatin-free without any badness (skittles, for example. and dry roasted peanuts.) but the reason for putting gelatin in has to do mostly with texture and such.

Nope. Vegetarians dont eat gelatin.

Veggie kid eating "Smore's" made with vegan marshmallows - they really DO exist!!... (Just had to post)