What does it mean to be vegan? A vegan in the most basic sense is someone who doesn’t eat or drink animal products. They make sure that all the food they buy/consume is ‘plant based’, and does not have ingredients such as meat, dairy or eggs. Sometimes the non-vegan ingredients are not obvious, such as ‘cochineal extract’, also known as ‘E120’ or ‘carmine’, which is made from crushed up beetles. And sometimes things that you would expect to be vegan contain animal products. For example, many dried herbs have milk powder as an ingredient. There is also the fact that some food, whilst it has vegan ingredients, has non-vegan processes. Some beers and wines are strained through fish bones to get rid of the impurities. Some cereals and fruit juices say they are fortified with vitamin D and omega-3, which are sometimes made from sheep’s wool grease and fish respectively. Bananas are sometimes sprayed with chitosan, derived form crab and shrimp shells, to extend their shelf life. Some white sugars, especially icing sugar, aren’t vegan as they’re filtered using bone char.
Definitions of Vegetarian, pescetarian and vegan: Vegetarian: People who abstain from the consumption of meat, fish and poultry, and anything that involves eating the animal itself. Pescetarian: Like vegetarian, except they will eat fish and other sea food. Vegan: Does not eat any animals or animal products.
There are also a surprising number of non-food products that sometimes contain animal products, for example: • Shampoos and Conditioners – lecithin from animal or dairy sources • Medication – gelatine (made from animal bones) coating • Fabric Softener – tallow (Animal fat) • Fireworks – stearic acid, which is derived from animal fat • Crayons – beef fat • Tyres – stearic acid, which is derived from animal fat