Philosophical Vegan Forum

Posted: **Thu Jul 24, 2014 8:52 pm**

Ingredients
1 cup unsweetened plain or vanilla coconut milk ( I choose plain ) Try not to get the SILK brand or many others you find next to milk products. As it has Sugar added and is not really healthy for you as the other kinds are. At least in my opinion. I could be wrong and it could just be natural sugar from the coconut itself.
Grass fed organic milk. ( for vegans, You can use Rice or soy milk or any other milk alternative. Maybe even more coconut milk.)
1 1/2 cups fresh Strawberries
1/2 cup blueberries Fresh
1-2 bananas, broken into 1-inch chunks
1 cup plain or vanilla Greek yogurt OR a vegan yogurt substitute. ( I choose Plain ) Make sure to get the good stuff that has little or no sugar in it.
2 Tsp Honey, Not sure about honey for you guys. If you want another sweetener I am sure there is a substitute you can use.

I don't have pictures but it looks tasty!

I hope that fixes everything.

Posted: **Sun Nov 23, 2014 9:02 am**

I'm just going to respond to this 4 months late.

Not sure about honey for you guys. If you want another sweetener I am sure there is a substitute you can use.

Agave!

Posted: **Sun Nov 23, 2014 11:50 am**

Shadow Fox wasn't a vegan. I think most vegans know about honey.

I like maple syrup even better than agave.

Posted: **Sun Nov 23, 2014 12:24 pm**

Shadow Fox wasn't a vegan. I think most vegans know about honey.

Hahaha, yeah, I know he wasn't. I was looking at the 'unanswered posts' section, saw this, and responded to that part of the post mostly out of boredom.

0.01% Was for anyone else reading.

I like maple syrup even better than agave.

Is maple syrup at the supermarket usually vegan, or would I have to go to Mrs. Greens or somewhere like that to get it?
I thought it was usually non-vegan so I haven't been getting it.
Or rather it was sometimes non-vegan, and I didn't want to have to contact companies to see if their particular syrup is vegan.

It's like how I hate it when things say 'natural flavors'. I usually give up there. It would be different if companies would usually give me a direct answer, instead of answering a completely different question than what I asked and/or asking me to call them because they "didn't understand my question."
And sometimes, they don't even respond. They just don't write back.

Posted: **Sun Nov 23, 2014 1:36 pm**

EquALLity wrote: Is maple syrup at the supermarket usually vegan, or would I have to go to Mrs. Greens or somewhere like that to get it?
I thought it was usually non-vegan so I haven't been getting it.

I think any pure maple syrup is going to be vegan.

Here's what I found:

At one time, maple syrup producers routinely added a small amount of lard, an animal fat, during processing to minimize foaming. In recent years, this practice has been eliminated by nearly all maple syrup companies. Instead, a small quantity of vegetable oil is typically used. If you have a concern and want to verify how your maple syrup was made, contact the producer directly. You can also check the label for a "kosher" marking. Kosher maple syrup is not processed with lard.

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

I remember now, I think, having read about that before somewhere.

So, you'd just have to ask if they use lard or vegetable oil... but like it says, kosher should be vegan.

EquALLity wrote: It's like how I hate it when things say 'natural flavors'. I usually give up there. It would be different if companies would usually give me a direct answer, instead of answering a completely different question than what I asked and/or asking me to call them because they "didn't understand my question."
And sometimes, they don't even respond. They just don't write back.

It can be very difficult to get a real answer from a company, and even if you do, it will usually just be a guess unless you get it in writing.

They may ask you to call, because they can just answer you with whatever, and they have no real liability because you can't really prove it and they haven't really made any written guarantee.

I would suggest just using your best judgement in those cases; if it seems like something that would be vegan, it's pretty reasonable to assume it is and not worry too much about it for your own uses.

Posted: **Sun Nov 23, 2014 9:10 pm**

I think any pure maple syrup is going to be vegan.

Here's what I found:

At one time, maple syrup producers routinely added a small amount of lard, an animal fat, during processing to minimize foaming. In recent years, this practice has been eliminated by nearly all maple syrup companies. Instead, a small quantity of vegetable oil is typically used. If you have a concern and want to verify how your maple syrup was made, contact the producer directly. You can also check the label for a "kosher" marking. Kosher maple syrup is not processed with lard.

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

Ah, thanks.

I remember now, I think, having read about that before somewhere.

From here, maybe? http://www.vegan2050.org/Article-14-Fre ... anism.html

So, you'd just have to ask if they use lard or vegetable oil... but like it says, kosher should be vegan.

Yup, thanks.

It can be very difficult to get a real answer from a company, and even if you do, it will usually just be a guess unless you get it in writing.

They may ask you to call, because they can just answer you with whatever, and they have no real liability because you can't really prove it and they haven't really made any written guarantee.

I would suggest just using your best judgement in those cases; if it seems like something that would be vegan, it's pretty reasonable to assume it is and not worry too much about it for your own uses.

I never though about it in that way (that companies want to talk via phone so what they say can't be used against them).
It's hilarious that some just don't respond. I've been waiting for Trader Joe's to answer me since October 30th.

What do you mean by using judgment in this situation? How can you tell?
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Check out this email I got from Kellogg's 5 days ago:

Dear Valued Consumer,

We are so glad you took the time to connect with us. Your interest in Kellogg's® cereal products is appreciated and we are happy to share more information about vegetarian labeling in our products with you.

Our ingredient listings on packages and our websites are the best place to check for animal-derived ingredients. Some of the recognizable animal-derived ingredients in our products include milk; milk ingredients such as whey, casein, and cheese; egg and egg ingredients like egg whites and albumin. There are other ingredients that may be less obvious like gelatin, Vitamin D, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), glycerin and some enzymes. Please note, the enzymes and glycerin we use in our products are not from an animal source.

For any remaining ingredients not listed above, we are often unable to provide detailed information regarding processing and sourcing since many different suppliers are used. However, if you have a question about a certain ingredient, feel free to contact us further.

Thank you again. We hope this information answers your question completely. In addition, we always encourage our fans to speak with a health care professional to discuss any specific dietary needs. If there is anything else we can help you with, please contact us again by calling 1-800-962-1413. You can also visit us online at http://www.kelloggs.com to learn more about our foods and determine which ones would work best for you and your family.

If you have additional comments or a photo to send to us, click here.
Please do not use your “reply” button to respond to this e-mail. Replies to this message are routed to an unmonitored mailbox.

Sincerely,

Curt C.
Consumer Specialist
Consumer Affairs

028168635A

wrote:
Which of your cereals don't contain animal derived ingredients and vitamins?

They say, "There are other ingredients that may be less obvious like gelatin, Vitamin D, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), glycerin and some enzymes. Please note, the enzymes and glycerin we use in our products are not from an animal source."
What, so the vitamins are? I love how they just don't list that.

Oh, egg whites come from eggs? Cheese comes from milk? Milk is an animal product?!?!?!?!1 Thank you for that useful tutorial on spotting those animal ingredients. I definitely did not know about them.

Posted: **Sun Nov 23, 2014 9:35 pm**

For many products, it's technically possible to get them from animal sources, but unlikely.

As they said, they just don't know, because they don't keep proper track of that stuff and don't know which supplier what came from.

Vitamin D3 is usually animal sourced, unless it says it is vegan. It's made from lanolin, which comes from wool during processing

Riboflavin being sourced from anything other than microbial synthesis sounds bizarre, and I don't think it has ever been done, or if it has, it was before modern biotechnology.

Some enzymes are sourced from human hair. I don't worry about that.

What do you mean by using judgment in this situation? How can you tell?

You guess. It's not like it has any meaningful quantity in it. Sometimes the effort of stressing over something like that in micrograms of maybe is worse than occasionally eating something suspect. There are other, more productive, uses for your energy.

Avoid the big stuff. The known. The visible. Don't worry as much about the micrograms of maybe that nobody knows about. Instead of calling and e-mailing these companies, go out and leaflet for five minutes. You'll save a dozen more animals for certain, compared to a fraction of a fraction of a maybe.

Posted: **Sun Nov 23, 2014 10:20 pm**

Thanks for the info.
I already knew about D3, but I didn't know about that with riboflavin.

I've never leafleted. Hm.
I don't email them constantly, btw.

Posted: **Mon Nov 24, 2014 3:29 am**

EquALLity wrote:Thanks for the info.
I already knew about D3, but I didn't know about that with riboflavin.

Seriously though, please don't worry about these things.

I just checked out that site, and it's pretty unreasonable:

Fruits and vegetables are vegan, right?
Some fruits and vegetables are not vegan because they are coated with shellac, a resin made using the bodies of insects. Other vegetables are coated with a wax that may or may not be vegan. Many vegetable suppliers use methods other than waxing to get a shiny look. The most reliable way to be sure of buying a fruit or vegetable has not been coated with wax or resin is to purchase organic produce.

http://www.vegan2050.org/Article-14-Fre ... question12

And Organic vegetables are grown with manure, bone meal, etc. This kind of nitpicking is absurd, because nearly everything around us has traces of animal derived ingredients, even the roads we drive on.

They're used because they're generally cheap and left over from animal agriculture, and the market finds somewhere to put them.

Nobody is killing animals for these trace ingredients, which can quite easily be made from plants too, if there's not so much excess gore left over from slaughter and processing.
The only effect they have is to every so slightly reduce the cost of meat; which is the same thing Organic produce does when they buy manure and other animal products for the fields, whether or not it is re-assimilated and changed by the plants into another chemical form, or even comes in contact with your food, is irrelevant.

PETA's stance on this issue is correct, both economically and morally:

http://www.peta.org/living/food/making- ... ucts-food/

Some packaged foods have a long list of ingredients. The farther an ingredient is down the list, the less of that ingredient is in the food. People who have made the compassionate decision to stop eating animal flesh, eggs, and dairy products may wonder if they need to read every ingredient to check for tiny amounts of obscure animal products. Our general advice is not to worry too much about doing this. The goal of sticking to a vegetarian or vegan diet is to help animals and reduce suffering; this is done by choosing a bean burrito or a veggie burger over chicken flesh, or choosing tofu scramble over eggs, not by refusing to eat an otherwise vegan food because it has 0.001 grams of monoglycerides that may possibly be animal-derived.

Although as to their latter points, it could be useful to cultivate at least some dense of disgust over overt animal products.

EquALLity wrote:I've never leafleted. Hm.

You should try it! It's surprisingly effective.
Although recidivism is extremely high too, getting people to reduce meat consumption or go vegan a day a week can be very meaningful on a large scale.

Posted: **Mon Nov 24, 2014 6:05 am**

Seriously though, please don't worry about these things.

I just checked out that site, and it's pretty unreasonable:

I wasn't endorsing the site, I was just wondering if you heard about animal fat sometimes being in maple syrup from there.

I don't worry about the fruit/vegetable thing, because if only some non-organic fruits and vegetables have animal products added to them, and all organic ones are made with animal products...

Nobody is killing animals for these trace ingredients, which can quite easily be made from plants too, if there's not so much excess gore left over from slaughter and processing.

Do they supplement the animal product producing industries though?
The downside to avoiding those ingredients, other than convenience, is that being nitpicky will put other people off from being vegan. So, I guess I have to realize which is more significant.

More people going vegan, and therefore maybe persuading other people to go vegan, definitely has more impact than just avoiding trace ingredients. So I guess I'll have to stop being so picky.

You should try it! It's surprisingly effective.
Although recidivism is extremely high too, getting people to reduce meat consumption or go vegan a day a week can be very meaningful on a large scale.

"Mom and dad, would you mind picking me up at _______? I'm going to leaflet there afterschool for this cause that you hate. Is that fine?"
Yeah, that'd go over swell! Unless I lie. Hm.

What are your experiences leafleting (if you've been)?

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