The Vegetarian & Vegan Thread

[cloudyshambles]

why is nutella not vegetarian?

 

[Andrea.RL]

it has rennet in it (at least in french it's what they call lactoserum, which is presure: some organ they get from calfs... ) I'm sad they do, but it doesnt surprise me since the whole story of them not specifing what oil they use either...

I just hate it when they dont write that their products arent vegetarian, and almost hide it under weird ingredients no one suspects... Its like they are disrepecting people's choice to not eat meat (meat derived) food all that just to sell it and make money.

 

[cloudyshambles]

that's shocking! i hardly ever eat nutella anyway, because i'm lactose intolerant, but which ingredient contains rennet exactly? i thought nutella only contained vegetable oil, hazelnuts, skimmed milk powder, cocoa powder, soy lecithin and vanillin?

 

[Kosmonaut]

The Nutella website lists: ingredients: sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, skim milk, reduced minerals whey (milk), lecithin as emulsifier (soy), vanillin

Oh. Well, now I'm confused.

 

[Kosmonaut]

Sorry for the double post.

I thought whey was just the watery part of curdled milk. And "reduced minerals whey" is whey that's gone through filtering or something.

ETA: You'd think they'd use non-animal rennet because it's cheaper. *shrugs* Whatever, I'm crushed.

 

[Neely]

I just hate it when they dont write that their products arent vegetarian, and almost hide it under weird ingredients no one suspects... Its like they are disrepecting people's choice to not eat meat (meat derived) food all that just to sell it and make money.

I completely agree, it's a pretty dirty move to say the least.

 

[silk skin paws]

Sometimes the "made with natural flavors" ingredient is animal-derived. Yeah the labels can get deceptive especially when animal ingredients are in foods that seem vegetarian. Breakfast cereals will contain vitamin d3 which is a animal derived ingredient.

 

[Manoushka]

So nice to see a thread for vegetarians and vegans over here!
Out of sheer curiosity, I must ask whoever is willing to answer, whether they avoid dead animals in their fashion as well?

Personally, I have decided I will buy leather products only second hand at upscale second hand stores, yes it is still a dead animal but it is second hand and so a new animal did not have to die for my shoes.
Then there's amazing designers like Stella McCartney of course! She is revolutionary in a world full of cruelty, the fact that a mainstream designer like Stella McCartney (next to her respective talent, of course) ís in fact mainstream in this day and age tells me there is appearing a shift in awareness and consumption. A slow shift, yes, but it is happening for sure, which is something that makes me very happy.

Fashion and animal/environment friendliness are not mutually exclusive! ♥

 

[ilaughead]

I personally don't buy any leather/wool/silk/etc items, but that's just me. I do, however, wear the items I bought before I went vegan. (i.e. a wool sweater, a leather belt.) It just doesn't hurt anything to keep wearing them. I can see how secondhand stuff isn't especially unethical, but I'd rather support a designer like Stella McCartney or someone and buy from them, that way the demand for leather alternatives (ever-so-slightly) increases.

 

[hautechild]

^ I still buy leather products, people make the assumption that vegetarianism is based on an ethical choice but as that isn't my reason for vegetarianism I see nothing hypocritical in not eating meat but still wearing leather.

 

[Manoushka]

ilaughead, I concur... people like Stella McCartney should definitely be supported, but I have to say her fashion is not always in my taste. I also still wear the clothes I bought from before I went vegan, I know vegans who couldn't stand wearing their leathers and wool items and had to get rid of them the second they turned vegan... I say, whatever works for you. There certainly are no "rules", and those vegans that go around proclaiming their rules loudmouthed to others are quite annoying. Not only because you cannot decide for someone else what to do, but also because having a loud 'better-than-though' attitude is not going to change people, and possibly push them in the opposite direction even!

Having said this, hautechild, I didn't come here to call anyone a hypocrite, I hope you didn't think that when you read my post. Like I said, what I asked was out of pure curiosity...
There are many reasons one could go vegetarian or vegan. Health obviously is a big reason as well, and a good one

 

[cloudyshambles]

I personally don't buy any leather/wool/silk/etc items, but that's just me. I do, however, wear the items I bought before I went vegan. (i.e. a wool sweater, a leather belt.) It just doesn't hurt anything to keep wearing them. I can see how secondhand stuff isn't especially unethical, but I'd rather support a designer like Stella McCartney or someone and buy from them, that way the demand for leather alternatives (ever-so-slightly) increases.

same here! (even though i wouldn't consider myself a full vegan yet, but 95% of the time i do eat a vegan diet)

 

[hautechild]

Having said this, hautechild, I didn't come here to call anyone a hypocrite, I hope you didn't think that when you read my post. Like I said, what I asked was out of pure curiosity...
There are many reasons one could go vegetarian or vegan. Health obviously is a big reason as well, and a good one

No, not at all!

I said it because that's a reaction I commonly get from non-veggies who think that the only kind of vegetarian is a card-carrying ALF member. Now of course there is absolutely nothing wrong with being vegetarian for ethical reasons, that is a person's choice, but a lot of people seem to think that's the only reason why someone would choose not to eat meat and are all "oooh so you're a vegetarian but what's your bag made out of then?!" I'm not planning on eating my bag so stfu.

 

[papa_levante]

"oooh so you're a vegetarian but what's your bag made out of then?!" I'm not planning on eating my bag so stfu.

Hahahaaaaa!

I buy second hand if it's leather. I wear and buy no fur. I haven't decided on why I do one and not the other, but fur speaks to me as more of a vanity issue than leather.

 

[Lilliana]

I finally stopped buying leather (I had my regular fall from grace facing shoes) BUT I am still struggling with wool. I find it soo hard to find a tolerable vegan winter coat as I am not into sportswear (also because of my job) and it gets quite cold here does anyone know any vegan alternatives apart from secondhand??

 

[Andrea.RL]

I just made a discovery... Looking for some ice to help my itching hand, I grabbed a pot of ben and jerry ice cream, and while I was holding it on my hand I noticed a logo on the other pot still in the freezer: a green V, with in very very small writting vegetarian around it! And all of a sudden I noticed it on other boxes and stuff on some shelves like on a box of pringles, that even specified that it wasnt vegan but vegetarian, and on different boxes of kellogs cereal. It makes me happy

 

[cloudyshambles]

@all the vegans in this thread: i wanted to buy a new jacket for fall/winter... jeez, it's so hard!! almost all jackets consist partly of wool! so frustrating... any similar experiences?

 

[cloudyshambles]

^okay i managed to find a nice cotton parka for winter! however, i also went looking for nice warm shoes which turns out to be really challenging...

 

[cestmagique]

^I sympathize because the only coats that have ever been quite thick and warm enough for me in winter were wool ones... I do buy second hand, though. I found a basically new wool coat from H&M on eBay and it's perfect. Gotta love other people's castoffs.

EDIT: as for shoes, I basically live in boots during winter so I've been shopping around for some, and actually the ones I've liked have all been synthetic instead of leather. That's kind of the benefit of buying less expensive shoes I guess, they often aren't real leather.

 

[YoninahAliza]

So I am a vegetarian for 95% of the time (mainly for health reasons- I've dealt with allergies to most meat products). Ever since I've started college I've struggled with eating good food which is healthy, yummy, and vegetarian. My college really doesn't have a lot to offer, I just get stuck eating from the salad bar and having pasta but I get bored of it. I'm on a meal plan so I have to eat most of my meals on the campus dining halls however, I was wondering if any of you had suggestions for me. Anything I could buy or suggest to the dining hall to have better vegetarian options? Thanks!