Animal Derived Ingredients

In a vegan world, we wouldn’t need to worry about hidden animal ingredients as they would not be freely available. Suppliers would readily choose additives that are plant-based. Unfortunately, in our current system of routine animal slaughter, and due to the preference we have for consuming only certain body parts, the by-products abound. They are cheaper than the plant-based alternatives as there is no alternate market for them and they would otherwise be seen as waste products.

Also read: Which E Numbers are Vegan?

Sources of Animal Derived Ingredients

After slaughter and the removal of all prime cuts and saleable items, the carcass is sent to the rendering plant to be converted into usable material. These are the bits and pieces of animals who make people squeamish and which you would not know about: fat, blood, bones, offal, brain matter, eyes, cartilage, tendons, feathers, and fur. Not only healthy farm animals are used, but the material can also be sourced from downed animals who never made it to the kill floor as well as euthanased animals from veterinarians, Nature Reserves, and zoos. Their appearance, flavor, smell, and chemical structure are altered and the end product is sanitized behind the names of chemical compounds, E numbers, vitamins, and innocuous terms like “gelatin”.

As a vegan looking for ethical food choices, you will soon get into the habit of reading labels. It is inadvisable to “trust” the manufacturer’s sense of goodwill. This is not in their mandate, which is to create a product that is not lethal to humans and will generate profit for the company. Compassion and animal rights very seldom play a part in their marketing and production strategies.

Be willing to avoid products that are not properly labeled unless you have assurances they contain no animal ingredients. When eating out, don’t expect the waitrons to know the ingredients in the food. They are not involved in the cooking process and will not be able to find out the details from the kitchen staff in the middle of service. Rather phone ahead and speak to the chef personally.

Unless the menu or product packaging specifically says suitable for vegans, then it probably isn’t.

Labeled and Obviously Animal Derived Ingredients

Dairy Products – present in almost every processed food under the guise of whey protein, butterfat, milk protein, cheese flavoring, cream, or casein. They are used in almost all sweets, desserts, sauces, soups, casseroles, cosmetic products, and chocolates; even unethically, in so-called “dark” chocolate.

Gelatin – made from the boiled hooves, bones, skin, and ligaments of pigs, cows or fish and is found in marshmallows, jelly, sweets, custards, desserts, vitamin capsules, nail varnish, golf balls, and matches.

Eggs – mayonnaise, desserts, soups, cakes, breads, biscuits, and some pastas. Check the source of lecithin, if it isn’t soya, it will be egg lecithin.

Shrimp Paste – found in many Thai curries.

Stock – a special note needs to be made about stock. Many people dismiss stock as it seems to represent such a small portion of the dish to be consumed. However, the truth is that the animals used for stock are those that cannot be sold as prime cuts. They are the bruised, battered, and abused bodies of animals who have lived the longest lives and thus endured the most suffering. Typically they are sourced from the mothers: egg-laying hens and dairy cows.

Chicken Stock can be found in butternut soup, vegetable soup, cheese sauce, tomato-based pastas, and potato bakes.

Beef Stock is used in many sauces and spices: BBQ sauce, hot chips and crisps, Bovril, and vegetable soups.

Fish, Shrimp, and Oyster Stock can be found in many foods that are misleadingly marked as vegetarian.

Possibly Animal Derived Supplements

? Amino Acids – Red Meat
? Alanine
? Arginine
? Asparagine
? Aspartic Acid
? Cysteine
? Cystine
? Glutamic Acid
? Glutamine
? Glutathione
? Glycine
? Histidine
? Isoleucine
? Leucine
? Lysine
? Methionine
? Phenylalanine
? Proline
? Serine
? Taurine
? Tryptophan
? Threonine
? Tyrosine
? Valine
? Beta Carotene – Provitamin A
? Biotin – Vitamin B Factor
? B Vitamins – Red Meat
? Calciferool – Vitamin D
? Chelated – Amino Acids
? Choline
? Chromium – Egg
? Ergocalciferol – Vitamin D2, Vitamin D3
? Inositol
? Iodine – Seafood
? Iron – Liver
? Lecithin – egg
? Lipoids/Lipids
? Omega 3 – Fish
? Phosphorous – Red Meat and Dairy
? Potassium – Dairy
? Probiotics – Cultured in dairy
? Riboflavin
? Selenium – Fish
? Vitamin A – Gelatin, Retinol, Palmitate or Acetate
? Vitamin B5 – Panthenol
? Vitamin B12
? Vitamin D
? Vitamin D3 – Lanolin from Sheep’s Wool
? Vitamin H
? Zinc – Seafood

Possibly Animal Derived Ingredients

? Allantoin
? Amino Acid
? Aminiuccinate Acid DL and L
? Aminosuccinate Acid DL and L
? Artificial Colours
? Benzoic Acid
? Choline Bitartate
? Deoxyribonucleic Acid
? Glutamic Acid
? Imidazolidinyl Urea
? Insulin
? Isopropyl Myristate
? Natural Flavour
? Natural Source
? Nucleic Acid
? Panthenol
? Polypeptides
? Ribonucleic Acid

Definitely Animal Derived Ingredients

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D

E

F

G

H

I

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

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U

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Y

Z

Most of the above-mentioned additives are routinely made using animal products, but there are alternatives to many of them that have been created in laboratories. Check with the supplier if you are unsure.