Additives: vegan or not?
Posted by Anonymous on Aug 23, 2007 · Member since Dec 1969 · 11789 posts
OK, I'm relatively new to this, so I hope I'm not just reposting something everyone here already knows, but I found a great website that lists whether an additive is vegan or not. I go crazy trying reading all of the ingredients and trying to figure out whether the product is vegan. This list will help me a lot from here on out... http://www.vegan-info.com/additives.html
Very Handy! Thank you!
You might want to post the link in the FAQ thread up above, as I'm sure everyone could find it useful.
Very Handy! Thank you!
You might want to post the link in the FAQ thread up above, as I'm sure everyone could find it useful.
Thanks for the suggestion, it's there now :)
Great list, thanks! I like the check system it's easy to read!
Just want to remind everyone that just because it's vegan doesn't mean it's healthy.
i.e. BHT and BHA have a green vegan check on that list but are huge NO NOs!
I'm not so sure about everything on the list...
for instance, beta carotene. It's a part of photosynthesis, but is listed as a possible animal product.
or calcium carbonate, which can be sourced from limestone (vegan. i mean, i guess, it's a rock, right?) or oyster shells (not vegan).
cetyl alcohol/palmitate - listed as not vegan - is usually made from coconut/palm oil now, though it used to be a whale product. probably still is in some places...
cysteine (listed as not vegan) is an amino acid that exists in plants and animals
guanine (listed as not vegan) is a base for DNA (as well as adenine, uracil, thymine, and cytosine), and all living things have DNA
i'm not sure why high fructose corn syrup is an either/or... might it be refined with bone char? never thought about this one.
urea (listed as not vegan) is typically synthesized from ammonia and co2. I guess the ammonia could be animal-derived.
msg (listed as vegan) can be derived from many sources, including animal and non-animal
oleic acid (listed as not vegan) can also come from plant or animal.
all the myristates and such can be animal or non-animal (but are listed varyingly as animal or non-animal)
palmitates are listed as not vegan, but can be non-animal or animal
progesterone is listed as possibly vegan, but i've never known any plant to contain it. synthetic progesterone, on the other hand, is called progestin (the stuff of birth control).
rna - listed as not vegan - can be sourced from anything with DNA.
"stearates" are listed as not vegan but individual "magnesium stearate" and "calcium stearate" are listed as possibly vegan (?)
"stearyls" (listed not vegan) can be vegan
suet is listed as possibly vegan, but is most definitely not. there's veggie suet, but that's kind of like saying "meat" is possibly vegan because there's veggie meat... o_O
tyrosine - listed as not vegan - animals can't actually produce it themselves apparently; it requires another source. still, only "possibly" vegan because it can be found in dairy.
I keep seeing lists like this on different websites and the check marks keep changing... I mean, not that I'd eat most of these chemicals anyway (I think I'll make an exception for beta-carotene though). I think if you'll eat these chemicals and want to ensure their veganness, it's probably best to research them than use a list. me, I'd just give up and make the damned food myself!
I'm not so sure about everything on the list...
for instance, beta carotene. It's a part of photosynthesis, but is listed as a possible animal product.
or calcium carbonate, which can be sourced from limestone (vegan. i mean, i guess, it's a rock, right?) or oyster shells (not vegan).
cetyl alcohol/palmitate - listed as not vegan - is usually made from coconut/palm oil now, though it used to be a whale product. probably still is in some places...
cysteine (listed as not vegan) is an amino acid that exists in plants and animals
guanine (listed as not vegan) is a base for DNA (as well as adenine, uracil, thymine, and cytosine), and all living things have DNA
i'm not sure why high fructose corn syrup is an either/or... might it be refined with bone char? never thought about this one.
urea (listed as not vegan) is typically synthesized from ammonia and co2. I guess the ammonia could be animal-derived.
msg (listed as vegan) can be derived from many sources, including animal and non-animal
oleic acid (listed as not vegan) can also come from plant or animal.
all the myristates and such can be animal or non-animal (but are listed varyingly as animal or non-animal)
palmitates are listed as not vegan, but can be non-animal or animal
progesterone is listed as possibly vegan, but i've never known any plant to contain it. synthetic progesterone, on the other hand, is called progestin (the stuff of birth control).
rna - listed as not vegan - can be sourced from anything with DNA.
"stearates" are listed as not vegan but individual "magnesium stearate" and "calcium stearate" are listed as possibly vegan (?)
"stearyls" (listed not vegan) can be vegan
suet is listed as possibly vegan, but is most definitely not. there's veggie suet, but that's kind of like saying "meat" is possibly vegan because there's veggie meat... o_O
tyrosine - listed as not vegan - animals can't actually produce it themselves apparently; it requires another source. still, only "possibly" vegan because it can be found in dairy.
I keep seeing lists like this on different websites and the check marks keep changing... I mean, not that I'd eat most of these chemicals anyway (I think I'll make an exception for beta-carotene though). I think if you'll eat these chemicals and want to ensure their veganness, it's probably best to research them than use a list. me, I'd just give up and make the damned food myself!
I agree,and too cook most everything I eat. However, occasionally I buy a product (be it food or personal care) that I do not know, or have the ability to research the additives that are in it at the time. So a list is very helpful to me.
Also, this list is compiled by Dr. David A. Weseloh, PhD., an animal rights activist. I asked about some of your questions and will post his response if he gets back with me on it. :)
beta carotene can most certainly come from animal sources (that's why cows milk cream has a yellow tint, it's "rich" in beta carotene)
According to crap I've read though, I think most beta carotene for vitamins/whatever is synthesized. There's two synthesizing methods, both don't use any apparent animal products. I'm not certain.
Just want to remind everyone that just because it's vegan doesn't mean it's healthy.
i.e. BHT and BHA have a green vegan check on that list but are huge NO NOs!
bravo sista! i just wanted to chip into that one!
can you give us any good links to info sites on BHT, and why it is unhealthy? I don't doubt you on this, but my google searches are not turning out anything very informative...
Just want to remind everyone that just because it's vegan doesn't mean it's healthy.
i.e. BHT and BHA have a green vegan check on that list but are huge NO NOs!
bravo sista! i just wanted to chip into that one!
can you give us any good links to info sites on BHT, and why it is unhealthy? I don't doubt you on this, but my google searches are not turning out anything very informative...
This has some other additives as well, I like the layout and it has some good info.
http://www.betterschoolfood.org/what_you_can_do/unhealthy.cfm
http://www.thebigcarrot.ca/additives.htm
I'm not so sure about everything on the list...
I got a response from Dr. Weseloh regarding questions to this list. He gave me permission to post his response, so here it is:
I am very happy that you liked and used the list. The way that I came up with the list was through several weeks of research. Since I am not an expert chemist, I relied on experts. My major source was Dr. Michael F. Jacobson through his book "The Complete Eater's Digest and Nutrition Scoreboard". I also used other experts but Dr. Jacobson was my starting point. He received his Ph.D. in microbiology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Also remember that I wrote the list about nine years ago and I am sure that some of the items listed as non-vegan or with a question mark have been since synthesized. I doubt that any that are listed as vegan have now become non-vegan.
I have also seen lists that were not as well researched as my list that shows things that they say are vegan and I know from my research are not vegan. In no way am I saying that my list is perfect but I believe that it is the most accurate list for vegans. I would love to find out were the person that wrote the criticism of my list received his or her information. I would be more than happy to change anything on my list if someone could prove that there is a mistake. I want something more than just someone saying that I am wrong. I need proof from an expert.
Thanks for writing.
Doc
He is very responsive to his emails and his email address is on the contact page on vegan-info.com, if you have any questions, please contact him. I would really like to have a list that I could absolutely be sure of so when I go to Whole Foods or Sai Bazaar (local) and see some strange ingredient on something I want to try I can be sure it is vegan. All the stuff that may or may not be doesn't really interest me, Until I know for sure I'll just assume that they are not vegan and forgo them. Thanks for making me think. ;) , Bird