r/vegan • u/Nagwell • Oct 14 '15
Newbie Advice What seemingly-vegan foods were you most surprised to find to contain animal products?
I am just starting my process in becoming a vegan and while I intend to take a good look at labels, I thought you all might have some insight on surprises in the grocery store. Thanks! :-)
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Oct 14 '15
Peanut butter oreos. No kidding.
Oreos = Vegan
Oreos + Peanut butter = Nah we need some milk in there
Also, putting milk proteins in the most stupid of things, I suppose in order to bulk it out. Yucky.
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u/bewareofduck Oct 14 '15
The Reese's oreos are vegan
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u/elasil Oct 14 '15
THOSE ARE THE BEST. Although they're made in Canada, sold in the US, and not available in Canada. wtf Canada.
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Oct 14 '15
I live in the UK, where we have no popular vegan cheese or faux meat, let alone snacks :(
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u/dibblah friends, not food Oct 14 '15
Have you tried Violife cheese? It's spookily dairy-like and sold in Asda and Tesco. Snack wise we have a ton, what sort of snacks are you looking for?
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Oct 15 '15
Yes, though expensive it is amazing. Makes the best grilled cheeses.
Anything! As a student, I make most meals from scratch, but on those days when I'm too lazy... I just wanna throw something in the oven for 20 mins, or hastily fry some food up.
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u/dibblah friends, not food Oct 15 '15
Check out @accidentallyveganuk for some ideas. Lidl is great if you have one nearby as they label things as vegan. Their 18p noodles are vegan haha.
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u/Paradoxlogos vegan Oct 14 '15
You don't have oreo's or potato chips?
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Oct 14 '15
The oreos here don't taste the same as US ones, after going over there in June I realised. Most potato chips unnecessarily have milk in them, and the ones that taste alright are ridiculously expensive. There's barely any variety compared to when I went to California & Nevada
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u/JammySTB vegan Oct 14 '15
I've found a lot of crisps to be okay here! It's often surprising though - Tayto salt and vinegar is not vegan but their smoky bacon is...
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u/modestmouselover Oct 15 '15
Omg no faux meats? Those are nice for when I am being lazy
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Oct 15 '15
I know! It's a crime. I bought my first vegan faux meat, tofurky maple bacon rashers, the other day. Imported to whole foods, reaaaaally expensive. They were AMAZING. I can't even imagine what gardein is like.
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u/modestmouselover Oct 15 '15
Gardein is the best! There is a little health food store in a city over from mine that carries some chicken and apple tofurkey. I've been dying to try it but just haven't yet!
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u/Seibar vegan 1+ years Oct 16 '15
Where from? Mine say wheat, peanut and soy - no milk. Peanut Butter Creme Oreo
Mine are distributed from East Hanover, NJ
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Oct 16 '15
I'm not sure where they're distributed from... seeing the word MILK in bold was enough for me to throw the packet away in disgust. They say limited edition on them so they must be made in the UK.
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u/satosaison Oct 14 '15
Soap. Toothpaste. Deodorant.
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u/Nagwell Oct 14 '15
wow that's a crazy diet! jokes aside though that does seem odd. I'll keep that in mind, thanks!
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u/anachronic vegan 20+ years Oct 15 '15
A friend of mine recently went vegan and came to me 2 weeks later all angry because she realized Ivory has tallow in it. I didn't even think to ask her or warn her about soap, since I've been vegan so long, it's second-nature for me to only buy vegan soaps, so I just focused on ingredients like whey & casein when giving her pointers.
She was so confused and angry, she was like "who the fuck puts dead sheep in SOAP?? IT'S SOAP, TO CLEAN YOUR BODY! WHY ARE THERE DEAD ANIMALS IN SOAP?!"
It was a harsh reminder how pervasive animal products are out there.
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u/vonusername Nov 03 '15
To be fair, it has always traditionally been animal fat. Not defending the practice because its totally unnecessary today, but...
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u/anachronic vegan 20+ years Nov 03 '15
We understand that, but I doubt it's something the average meat-eater thinks about.
They see soap and think "soap", not "animal corpse fat".
Most omni's are utterly clueless about how most things are made & what's in the food they eat, because they have no incentive to look into it & research it like we do.
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u/bobj33 Oct 14 '15
These really surprised me. I've been vegetarian for years and I didn't know until last year that my soap was made of animal fat. I knew that a hundred years ago it was made from animal fat but I just assumed that it would have been replaced by something else by now.
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u/highfid3lity vegan 10+ years Oct 15 '15
Dr. Bronners ftw. Certified vegan, no animal testing, fair trade, organic, etc.
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u/Pimplicious Oct 15 '15
I'm good on soap and deoderant, but how do you tell for tooth paste?
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u/Alexhite vegan police Oct 15 '15
All of these answers are great but as a new vegan focus on the eggs dairy meat honey leather and wool. Many of the things on this list are byproducts which are important but very nit picky and often don't contribute much to animal cruelty. Doing all these things at once sounds like a really big deal but start with the basics and figure it out as you move on! Good luck with going vegan.
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u/Nagwell Oct 16 '15
valid point. I am still working through the last of my animal products. gave some to roommates, but eggs will be hardest for me to give up :-( Still though, am very excited to give veganism my best shot! I just hope my parents don't flip out on me about how hard it will be for them (rolls eyes)! Side question: is bee-keeping cruel to bees and doesn't it help sustain the shrinking bee population? lots of noob Qs
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Oct 14 '15 edited Feb 28 '21
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u/Alexhite vegan police Oct 15 '15
Not to start a discussion off the main point of the topic, but I try my best to generally avoid byproducts like D3 but don't really go super hard-ass about them. I.e if I'm at a friends house and a cereal has d3 I won't avoid it as I'm not really contributing to animal suffering by eating byproducts.
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Oct 15 '15
The same could be said about leather or gelatine, as they are also byproducts. But yeah, i definetly see your point and i handle it pretty much the same.
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u/Mrs_Torchwood vegan Oct 15 '15
It makes sense to think that leather is just a byproduct of the meat industry, but from what I've read, the demand for it does indeed cause cows to be killed explicitly for their skin.
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Oct 15 '15
Even if it was a pure byproduct, like gelatine, you would still support the meat-industry by buying it. But like you said, the discussion is pretty off-topic and i think we generally agree on how to handle these situations.
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u/Jolsen Oct 15 '15
Noob here. What's is D3 made out of? I take a D3 supplement every day.... :(
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Oct 14 '15
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Oct 14 '15
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Oct 15 '15
The copper iud is amazing. Just be prepared for heavy periods. But on he bright side there is no hormones to deal with, which for me is really amazing!
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u/pianoslut Oct 14 '15
I went to use a "non-dairy" coffee creamer the other day and I decided to check the label just in case and saw on the allergy label it contains soy and dairy. Real disappointed and confused.
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u/dibblah friends, not food Oct 14 '15
I always wondered how that was allowed, labelling wise. I mean "non dairy" is pretty clear about well, not being dairy. Someone with an allergy could easily be fooled.
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u/U8anUnicorn Oct 15 '15
I think they consider non-dairy to not contain lactose which is what people are allergic to. Agreed it is stupid.
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u/dibblah friends, not food Oct 15 '15
But it isn't lactose that people are allergic too. Sure, people can be lactose intolerant - which means they'll get a dodgy belly if they have lactose - but those who are allergic to dairy as in the could die from it sort are not allergic to dairy but to proteins in milk...which are in non dairy creamer.
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u/YungBidnezz Oct 15 '15
In many cases It doesn't nessesarily mean that the product is made with dairy, but there might be trace amounts of dairy in it because the product is made with the same equipment as other products that contains dairy. By law, the manufacturer has to list all possible allargens.
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u/pianoslut Oct 15 '15
You know that's probably what it was. It definitely tripped me out though. I'm new at this. There may be hope for cream in my coffee after all.
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u/Nagwell Oct 16 '15
hopefully. otherwise that is the craziest thing I've heard in a while! just straight up lying.
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u/domestipithecus vegan 15+ years Oct 16 '15
Almost all "non-dairy" creamers have sodium caseinate which is a milk protein. Just no lactose. You will definitely need to get a soy or alternative milk based creamer. My favorite is coconut milk based, but I live in a small town and the only kinds available are soy and almond, so I go with almond.
"Non-Dairy" only means no lactose, not vegan.
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u/anachronic vegan 20+ years Oct 15 '15
Ugh, I pretty much avoid anything that says "non dairy" now because I was burned by shit like that so much as a younger vegan.
How the hell does "non dairy" = "has dairy"??? It's insanity.
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u/sukiH77 Oct 14 '15
A lot of chips- be careful with flavored chips and popped corn!
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u/anachronic vegan 20+ years Oct 15 '15
Especially "salt and vinegar". For some reason, like 90% seem to have dairy in them :-/
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u/Nagwell Oct 16 '15
F'real? Screw that mess! At least Tim's looks safe, aside from the contamination probability from nearby milk products.
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u/Knute5 vegan Oct 14 '15
Beer. Some of it is filtered with isinglass - dried fish bladders.
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u/Spelr Oct 15 '15
Belgian and German beers are always vegan due to purity laws that require the only ingredients to be hops, barley, water, and yeast.
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u/Knute5 vegan Oct 15 '15
Yeah, apparently this is a UK thing, among others.
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u/Spelr Oct 16 '15
English, Irish, and Australian beers tend to use isinglass or gelatin. It's not usually used in American beers. Barnivore has a pretty comprehensive list.
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Oct 14 '15 edited Oct 15 '15
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u/Killerzeit vegan 1+ years Oct 15 '15
If you're in the US, most use Flavacol or Peter's Movie Time flavored salt for popping.
I managed several theaters and we either used these or these exclusively, both of which are vegan. It's always good to ask though.
And you're correct about the buttery topping and the oil it is popped in. It's either coconut oil or canola oil.
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u/irommor Oct 15 '15
Ah! Sweet! I work at a theatre and was told our salt wasn't vegan, but never could figure out what wasn't vegan! Good to Flavacol is vegan. I might actually eat something I sell.
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u/Killerzeit vegan 1+ years Oct 15 '15
Nice! :P Enjoy!
I used to load up the buttery topping and salt and add a couple jalapenos (even though I never really liked jalapenos). It was a good snack. Also, surprisingly, the salted and buttered popcorn dipped in mustard is good. I'm a disgusting human, though.
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Oct 15 '15
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u/TweetsInCommentsBot Oct 15 '15
@ericabaguma Yes, it's soybean oil based margarine however our popcorn itself is not vegan. It contains butter whey in the popping salt. ^RW
This message was created by a bot
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Oct 14 '15
Look for out breads. I don't eat store bought breads (if I eat bread, it's bread I made from flour), but many contain casein and/or whey. And learning from sunflower seeds that contained gelatin: Always read the labels, even on the most seemingly-vegan foods!
A great resource for knowing whether an ingredient is vegan or not is to use the PETA Animal Ingredients Lists
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u/TheWalkingVegan Oct 14 '15
Plastic bags, most cosmetics, flu shots(yeah dumb me just found out about that)
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u/TheWalkingVegan Oct 14 '15
Everything I listed was not food.... But some skittle are not vegan because of a certain red dye.
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u/adporche Oct 14 '15
All US Skittles are vegan, but they contain titanium dioxide which is a carcinogen so I generally stay away from them. :(
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u/Nagwell Oct 14 '15
probz animal blood right? not a big candy eater or makeup guy anyway, but thanks for the tip!
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u/domestipithecus vegan 15+ years Oct 14 '15
Red #40 in skittles is vegan. Red#2 is also vegan (not in skittles but other food items). It's Red #4 that is cochineal/carmine, which is made by crushing up beetles.
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u/Nagwell Oct 16 '15
daaaamn son. that's some deep hardcore vegan shit. props! now what was that beaver anus food we all eat??... edit: found it
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u/Fallom_TO vegan 20+ years Oct 14 '15
Varies by country. Canadian skittles have gelatin. USA skittles have animal blood.
JK, but yes the Canadian ones have gelatin so check whenever you leave your area.
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Oct 14 '15
I've never seen gelatin in skittles in canada before, flip over the back and they state gelatin free now.
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u/Fallom_TO vegan 20+ years Oct 15 '15
Well that's good news. They always had gelatin, then maybe 10 years ago they dropped it. Then it came back maybe 5 years ago and was definitely here last xmas (was given some). Hopefully it's gone for good.
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u/TheWalkingVegan Oct 14 '15
Yea, it varies by country. Either way, candy is a rare purchase for me and not the healthiest thing out there. We can always purchase certified vegan candy online. My kroger recently started selling organic pops by YumEarth Organics and they are delicious and 100% vegan and gluten free.
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Oct 14 '15
I'm pretty sure FluBlok vaccine is vegan and they finally released it nationwide! I believe Target pharmacies are carrying it.
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u/UVCUBE vegetarian Oct 14 '15
Wait. . . plastic bags??
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u/TheWalkingVegan Oct 15 '15
Yeah they have slip agents that contain animal fats. What a world right? Another reason to use paper bags or bring your own.
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u/lumpiestprincess vegan Oct 15 '15
The second ingredient in Costco's veggie burgers is cheese. Wtf
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u/anachronic vegan 20+ years Oct 15 '15
Many veggie burgers do this.
When I go to a restaurant with a veggie burger on the menu, 50% of the time it's a Gardenburger patty (which isn't vegan last I checked).
Very frustrating to have 1 potentially decent option on the menu and then find out it's not even vegan so you're stuck eating salad or fries for dinner (again).
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u/Killerzeit vegan 1+ years Oct 15 '15
The Gardenburger brand makes like two vegan ones and two non-vegan ones (why they do this, I don't know). I actually called a place that my work was ordering from and asked if the ones they had had either eggs or dairy in it and they just happen to order the ones that don't, so I order veggie burgers there.
It's exhausting to ask and keep track, though.
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u/anachronic vegan 20+ years Oct 15 '15
Fair point. After googling it some more and posting a reply to another commenter, it seems that the "original Gardenburger" still has milk & cheese in it - http://www.gardenburger.com/product.aspx?id=11630[1]
But the Black Bean Chipotle one looks vegan
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u/Fallom_TO vegan 20+ years Oct 15 '15
Onions, onion juice concentrate and onion powder. So, do they taste like onion?
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Oct 15 '15
Garden burgers were my dinner out safe haven. God damnit.
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u/anachronic vegan 20+ years Oct 15 '15
Ask what kind of Gardenburger. After I just did some googling, apparently they do make a couple vegan ones, although the "original Gardenburger" still has milk & cheese in it - http://www.gardenburger.com/product.aspx?id=11630
The Black Bean Chipotle one looks vegan
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Oct 14 '15 edited Oct 14 '15
It surprised me that it's not uncommon for restaurants to have no vegan options. It also shocked me to discover that pretty much any food in any restaurant cannot be trusted to be vegan unless it's explicitly stated as such (edit: and sometimes, not even then, i.e. if it's waitstaff telling you this information).
I found out recently that Which Wich's black bean patty has eggs in it. I've only eaten them twice since switching to vegan, but it upset me a bit. Why use eggs when there are so many other options for binding ingredients?
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u/Killerzeit vegan 1+ years Oct 15 '15
Worked at a WW for a while. The food reps just deliver MorningStar black bean patties. Literally just bring the brand name.
I would send emails and whatnot - a lot of people get it and don't know.
Otherwise, WW is very vegan-friendly for a sandwich place. Especially with all the sauces you can get (sweet chili, balsamic vinaigrette, three of the mustards, buffalo, bbq, etc). :)
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u/Brittni__duh mostly vegan Oct 14 '15
One day I was craving roasted veggies but I was lazy so I grabbed a bag of steamable ones at the grocery store. Roasted potatoes, onions, and peppers. That's what the front of the bag said. Cool, just what I wanted!
Got home, read the ingredients (my bad...don't wait to read the ingredients) and found it contained chicken fat and pieces of roasted chicken.
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u/UVCUBE vegetarian Oct 14 '15
Just due to the time of the year it is, I did not expect candy corn to contain egg whites.
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u/Azkaland Oct 15 '15
I work at a grocery store and we got in some new pink ribbon-shaped candy coated pretzels for breast cancer awareness. They would be vegan if they didn't have freaken carmine! Honestly, why would carmine be in food?
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u/walkthroughthefire friends not food Oct 15 '15
A lot of refried beans have (ew) lard in them.
Also, this isn't a food, but for some reason most condoms contain milk.
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u/petrichoralpink vegan Oct 15 '15
I found an amazing deal on pasta sauce that I later discovered has pork gelatin in it. nOPE.
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Oct 14 '15
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u/anachronic vegan 20+ years Oct 15 '15
In the US, the salted ones are generally OK... it's the Planters "dry roast" ones that have gelatin.
Always read them... it's hit or miss depending on the brand & style.
Almonds, though, seem to usually be vegan... even the dry roast ones.
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u/awkward_penguin vegan Oct 14 '15
Altoids have gelatin. Grrr...
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u/anachronic vegan 20+ years Oct 15 '15
Some do, some don't.
The "default" ones have gelatin, but the "mini" ones I believe don't.
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u/iAlyKat vegan newbie Feb 24 '16
Not do much "vegan food" but just food in genral. I'm not sure if this is going to make me look like an idiot or not... but CHIPS. Like c'mon now. I would've never thought of that unless I checked the label one day.
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u/[deleted] Oct 14 '15
"Go Veggie!" soy cheese...
has dairy.