Being vegan is pretty simple on the surface—if an item has animal products in it, it’s not vegan. If you’re vegan or have been eating with a vegan friend for a while, you’ll know the main types of food to avoid: Meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, eggs. However, there are lots of other foods that are seemingly vegan but actually contain animal products!
Here are some foods that are commonly mistaken to be vegan, but actually have animal products in their ingredients.
Non-Vegan Traces vs Non-Vegan Ingredients
Before we continue, it’s good to know that some strict vegans avoid products that are technically vegan because they may contain traces of animal products. For example, although sugar is made from plants, some white sugars are refined using bone char and are thus non-vegan!
However, it’s hard to avoid such traces of animal products unless you’re only eating vegan-certified food. In that case, avoiding non-vegan ingredients isn’t enough—you’ll have to check each product specifically for a vegan certification.
Thus, this article isn’t focusing on foods with traces of animal products, but instead foods that use actual animal products in their ingredients!
Honey
This is a controversial food among vegans—some avoid it, some don’t. Either way, a large percentage of vegans don’t consume honey because it’s produced by bees, so be sure to look out for honey in the ingredient list!
Vegan alternatives: Maple syrup, agave nectar
Jellies, Marshmallows and Gummy Bears
What do jellies, marshmallows and gummy bears have in common? Gelatin! Although the name of this ingredient may not make you think of animals, it’s actually made from cows, pigs or even fish.
Vegan alternatives: Agar agar, konjac, carrageenan
Bread
You’ve probably seen bread featured as the base of many vegan breakfasts and thus have assumed it’s vegan. However many breads, especially the soft, fluffy enriched loaves that Singaporeans prefer, usually contain eggs and dairy!
Vegan alternatives: European breads like baguettes, sourdough and other crusty loaves usually contain only simple ingredients (flour, water, salt, yeast) and no enriching ingredients (eggs, butter, milk)
Miso Soup
When you think of miso soup, you probably think of the miso paste it gets its name from. As this is just fermented soybeans, you may think this soup is vegan—however, the other main ingredient in miso soup is the dashi broth, which usually contains bonito (fish) flakes!
Vegan alternatives: Miso soup made without dashi
Bonus: Lip Balm
Avoiding dry lips? Lip balms solve that, but often use beeswax as the solution! Cosmetics, especially nourishing or moisturising ones, are usually non-vegan because the common ingredients like keratin, collagen, honey and beeswax are all animal-derived. However many beauty brands are creating vegan-friendly versions nowadays, so just keep an eye out for those!
Although being vegan is often associated with one’s diet, for some people, veganism extends to other areas of life too! So when shopping for your vegan friend, beware of animal products in cosmetics, clothing (wool, leather, fur), jewellery (pearl, bone, shells) and more.
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