Me and my husband are almost pretty much vegan, we went straight to vegetarianism overnight, and have almost cut out eggs, all dairy, etc.

Anyway.. Can you tell me what is wrong with honey? Bees are not hurt in the process, or are they? We found organic honey..

Also, can you list things that one may not realize is an animal product?? I know its ignorant, but I had no idea what gelatin was.

Bees aren't usually intentionally killed, with the exception of queens. They are small and wriggly and inevitably are squashed. Queens are typically replaced every 2-5 years because their egg production declines, which affects productivity. It's pretty well outlined here:
http://www.vegansociety.com/html/animals/exploitation/bees.php

I think a lot of it is open to interpretation. Organic honey is problematic, because you never really know where the bees are going to get their nectar. I believe the standard (I'll look it up) calls for a 2-mile radius of organic plants around the hives. In reality, it's difficult to tell if bees necessarily go there, if the plants are crossed with genetically engineered crops, etc. We all just want to do the best we can within what we feel comfortable with.

P.S. Is wool vegan? :think:

I dont know..

I think NOT...
From ALF



What's Wrong With Wool?
Scientists over the years have bred a Merino sheep which is exaggeratedly wrinkled. The more wrinkles, the more wool. Unfortunately, greater profits are rarely in the sheep's best interests. In Australia, more wrinkles mean more perspiration and greater susceptibility to fly-strike, a ghastly condition resulting from maggot infestation in the sweaty folds of the sheep's over-wrinkled skin. To counteract this, farmers now perform an 'operation' without anaesthetic call 'mulesing' in which sections of flesh around the anus are sliced away, leaving a painful bloody wound.
Without human interference, sheep would grow just enough wool to protect them from the weather, but scientific breeding techniques have ensured that these animals have become wool-producing monstrosities.

Their unnatural overload of wool (often half their body weight) brings added misery during summer months when they often die from heat exhaustion. One million sheep die in Australia alone each year from exposure to cold after shearing.

Every year, in Australia alone, about ten million lambs die before they are more than a few days old. This is due largely to unmanageable numbers of sheep and inadequate stockmen.

Of UK wool, 27% is "skin wool," pulled from the skins of slaughtered sheep and lambs.

http://www.animalliberationfront.com/Practical/Health/VEGAN-L%20FAQ.htm#15

But does that mean that ALL wool is not vegan? That is, if the sheep are raised properly (even if they have been selectively bred) and taken care of temperature-wise, and not killed for it, is it still wrong to wear an animal product?

(Just playing Devil's advocate here to get people thinking...)

Also, back to honey, many honey farmers trap honey badgers because they eat the honey.

Chrystee - there are no "foolish" or stupid questions on VB ... (well, OK, there have been a few in the past...)

If you'll do a search (see the "search" function on your main page) for the word "honey" or "wool" or whatever word you're wondering about, you'll find a bunch of great threads here, about these very subjects, with better and more thorough answers than I could provide...

But does that mean that ALL wool is not vegan? That is, if the sheep are raised properly (even if they have been selectively bred) and taken care of temperature-wise, and not killed for it, is it still wrong to wear an animal product?

(Just playing Devil's advocate here to get people thinking...)

if you find such a place let me know. I doubt one exists.

I don't wear wool personally, but I do consume honey. I know someone who keeps bees, so I get a jar gifted every once in a while. I think that's okay because she is not doing it for profit so much as a hobby and she assured me that the bees have plenty of honey and she is careful about accidentally squishing them when she collects it.

Chrystee - there are no "foolish" or stupid questions on VB ... (well, OK, there have been a few in the past...)

If you'll do a search (see the "search" function on your main page) for the word "honey" or "wool" or whatever word you're wondering about, you'll find a bunch of great threads here, about these very subjects, with better and more thorough answers than I could provide...

Thanks.. I did search for honey, but couldn't find the reason why.. I think I know now.. :)

if you find such a place let me know. I doubt one exists.

I don't wear wool personally, but I do consume honey. I know someone who keeps bees, so I get a jar gifted every once in a while. I think that's okay because she is not doing it for profit so much as a hobby and she assured me that the bees have plenty of honey and she is careful about accidentally squishing them when she collects it.
My dad and grandather used to do this when my dad was a kid. Sometimes my grandftaher talks about doing it again..he was trying to explain it to me that you take just a little honey at a certain time, and then the bees will have plenty and you can have some too

I asked the same q. But I am interested does anybody know of common things that aren't vegan but you wouldn't think it? I can add one marshmellows.

there is loads of stuff that you'd think is vegan that isnt....

-lots of soy cheeses contain casein (a milk derivative that helps it go melty)
-food colourings- some red food colouring (its called cochineal in the uk but i think its called something different in the states) is made from squashed beetles.
-margarines, etc, with vitamins in - i used to use fleischmanns but the d vitamin is from meat- they don't mention it on the packet
-candy- i guess you got the gelatin sussed now
-cosmetics and shampoos, etc- all kinds of weird animal based fats, etc in them.
-sugar- white sugar is often refined through bone charr filters- many vegans avoid white sugar because of this.

thats off the top of my head... i don't each much packaged stuff cos i have a billion allergies and its too much hassle.

i'd look at a vegan ingredients list, but be aware that many companies have altered an animal based ingredient and renamed it, so there are lots of different variations of ingredient names now.

try this for a start...

http://www.peta.org/MC/factsheet_display.asp?ID=72

and once you've wailed over all the label stuff you'll need to read now, lol, you can cheer yourself up with this one, stuff that you'd think wasn't vegan, that is!:

http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/

oooh, and just incase you go in there.... the fries and hashbrowns in mcdonalds- aka 'mcyuck' in the states at least (i know they're ok in the UK) have meat derivates in them.... and loads of fast food restaurants cook their veggie burgers and fries, etc, very close to or in the same oil as meat things- i'd check with each place if you eat out.

What exactly does gelatin come from? Is it not vegetarian, or just not vegan?
Also What is rennet? I heard that mentioned somewhere.

As for the honey, I still wouldn't eat it if it were harvested humanely because of what it is, bee vomit.

I have a jar of this: http://www.veganstore.com/index-store.html?deptid=17119&parentid=41&stocknumber=613&page=1&itemsperpage=12
It taste great and has lasted almost a year for me.

The vegan family I know uses agave nectar. it comes from a cactus and is really good.

Gelatin is animal protein from bones, catilage, hooves, etc.
Renet is calf stomach, it has enzymes that people use to help turn milk into cheese.
http://www.vegfamily.com/lists/animal-ingredients.htm

Also, can you list things that one may not realize is an animal product?? I know its ignorant, but I had no idea what gelatin was.


I'm in the same boat as you... I don't have much to add. But when I was trying to go vegan a few years back I noticed a few things that contained animal products that shocked me: a lot of tootpaste, a LOT of candy you'd never think, most chewing gum, and - this one was the hardest for me to understand, although it may be obvious? - blue jeans. Apparently a lot of jean companies don't always list on their tags that they use animal products in the lining of their pants. I've been told the best way to avoid this is to shop at specifically vegan-made clothing stores. They're all over the internet if you don't have any in your area.

(I hope this was at all helpful - I've only been a member here a few days and I'm one of maybe 3 vegetarian/vegans in all of south georgia, so I'm not sure what is common knowledge among most vegans!) Good luck! :)

Blue Jeans? I LIVE in jeans!!! What exactly are you saying here? Lining? My jeans don't have lining as far as I am aware of. I could not be more surprised and confused.:confused: Just when you think you've heard it all :dizzy:

ok, so i looked up the jeans issue, and i think i'm ok with it for now... i can't afford to go buying loads of special jeans, and i'm doing my best, so that'll do for now. but it is very interesting to know. this webpage explains it well:

http://www.vegsource.com/jo/qa/qacott.htm

Gelatin is animal protein from bones, catilage, hooves, etc.
Renet is calf stomach, it has enzymes that people use to help turn milk into cheese.
http://www.vegfamily.com/lists/animal-ingredients.htm

So are those things considered not vegan or not vegetarian at all?
How do I know if renet is in something? Will the ingredients list it?

So are those things considered not vegan or not vegetarian at all?
How do I know if renet is in something? Will the ingredients list it?

Animal derived rennet is not considered vegetarian because the animal needs to die in order to get the product. Non animal derived (microbial) rennet is vegetarian.
Vegetarian cheeses tend to be labeled as such, or they will say non-animal rennet on the ingredients list.

Casein is vegetarian, but not vegan. Casein will be on ingredients lists and is in tons of soy cheeses, because it gives it a good stringy consistency when it's melted. Soy cheeses without casein will usually say vegan on them, since the 'cheese' isn't as cheese like (or as good-IMO), it's vegan-ness is it's main selling point!

ETA: a good link on cheese http://www.vegsoc.org/info/cheese.html

Ok. How do I know what has gelatin in it? It is not vegetarian either? I thought it was just not vegan (because i never knew exactly what it came from), so I only abstained from it Fridays during Lent what I eat vegan. Not to say I never eat vegan any other time, just that Fridays during Lent I really really made an effort for it. I think I will try to do all of Lent next year. But anyway.

So are those things considered not vegan or not vegetarian at all?
How do I know if renet is in something? Will the ingredients list it?
Gelatin and renet are technically not vegetarian or vegan because it requires the killing of animals to obtain them. That being said, some lacto-ovo vegetarians choose to eat cheese with rennet anyway because they're already contributing to the death of the calf by supporting the dairy industry.

I don't know if rennet is on the ingredients list. When I was lacto-ovo I honestly didn't care much about the animal suffering issues. The easiest way to avoid rennet is to not eat cheese.

So it regular dairy cheese they put it in? I thought it was some veggie cheeses that weren't vegan. Or is that just casein?