One of the things that I quickly discovered as a vegan was to ALWAYS read the ingredients label on products. I think my first lesson on this was when Shannon and I decided to make a vegan pizza. We grabbed a pack of this cheese that was clearly branded Veggie. There is usually a whole section of these cheeses around here in the produce section, they are right next to the tofu so we assumed with Veggie in the title we couldn’t go wrong. Unfortunately it wasn’t until after we consumed the whole pizza that we decided what was inside the cheese. That is when the bold text at the bottom of the ingredients label caught my eye. It contained milk ingredients! This was really frustrating because I couldn’t comprehend why any one would label real cheese Veggie? It just doesn’t seem logical because cheese is already vegetarian!

From what I understand (courtsey of the fine users at the Vegan Freaks Forum) a lot of cheese contain a slaughter house byproduct called Rennet. Apparently Rennet is part of a cow’s stomach, disgusting I know! Something that disturbs me even more is that Vegetarians honestly think just because they avoid Rennet that their precious cheese isn’t a byproduct of slaughter houses. I honestly wonder what people think happen to cows when they stop producing milk? Ever wonder where your dog food comes from?

Another problem I’ve been having is at home. My mother and I are both allergic to anti bacterial soap. Her hands are worse then mine, they crack and dry out really bad. Mine just get a lot rougher. Well my mom bought a different type of soap that has worked great for both of us, and she’s stocked it in all of the bathrooms in the house. I never really questioned the contents of this mystery soap until I saw the huge refill bottle sitting out on the sink. I didn’t even have to read the ingredients label, the title spelled it out loud and clear. Milk and Honey Liquid Soap, the two things a vegan despises the most. Sigh, now it’s a huge inconvenience because it is so habitual to just was my hands with the first soap I see. My parents are very tolerant but at the same time huge omnivores, I don’t think she will be switching soaps any time soon.

While it may be annoying to have to read every single label on every single product I use, I think the suffering it reduces is worth it. I just wish more products would have a vegan certification logo stamped on the back; because this would make my shopping experience so much more enjoyable.

Categories: Rants and Raves
Tags: animal ethics, animal rights