I started reading labels and I'm shocked!!!
 

Ok may foods I bought I thought where meatless then I started reading the labels. It started on thanksgiving I bought my family chicken stuffing and bought cornbread stuffing for myself. I was curious so I read the ingredients and corn bread stuffing is made with chicken broth!! So I started reading labels of other foods I eat and found more. French onion soup has beef, potato soup has chicken, ect. I used to buy sloppy joe mix before you add hamburger and use boca crumbles. I read the label and it says may contain anchovies!!!!!!!!!! Yuk!! I used to eat jello untill I found out what gelatin was double yuk!!!!! How could I be so blind. Was I the only one that didn't know this? I will be reading every label from now on.
Kelly

It really is amazing how many food items have animal by-products in them. There are some pretty nasty ingredients added to the foods we eat, and it get especially tricky with all the chemically-sounding names that one would never guess are animal-based products.

One easy way to find out if a product is animal-free is to look for various kosher symbols. If a product is kosher dairy or kosher pareve, then it will be free from meat (as dairy and meat can not be eaten together by those who keep kosher while pareve is considered neutral and can be eaten with both [which means it's dairy and meat-free]).

Even Campbell's vegetable soup :( It's everywhere! Gelatin in yogurt (kosher gelatin is still no good), rennet in cheeses, fish sauce in a ton of asian foods. So frustrating!

_Even vitamins and supliments are lousy with animal products and gelatin coating. Ick!

It's pretty bad out there! I cook more from scratch now than ever.

I was thinking about this too since I'm thinking of going pescetarian...all these hidden stuff in these food that seem animal free. Used to love jelly but found out they made it from the froth from boiling animal bones and red food colouring is actually made from grounded up insects or something like that.

dude "Despite the popular misconception, Allura Red AC is not derived from any insect, unlike the food colouring carmine, which is derived from the female cochineal insect." Wikipedia. very gross.

"Carmine is used in the manufacture of artificial flowers, paints, crimson ink, rouge, and other cosmetics, and is routinely added to food products such as yogurt and certain brands of juice, the most notable ones being those of the ruby-red variety."

the non bug food coloring is made from petroleum apparently and thats actually more gross than eating bugs.

I recently learned about castoreum. It's a food additive made from the anal secretions and urine of beavers.

What productsis castoreum in?! That sounds gross!

It's used in artificial raspberry, strawberry, and vanilla flavored foods and drinks. Unfortunately it is listed as a natural flavor so it's hard to tell what foods it is actually in.

haha! you are not alone! when I 1st became a veggie i fell into all those traps :)
I have learnt now what I can and cannot safely eat, for example I cannot have some pills as they have animal by products (even some iron capsules......) yuk!
Its all about research and reading lables :)

Yes it is scary when you start to read labels. I am always amazed by what we put into food and think it is good for us, and we have been doing it for years.

Oh yeah that I understand, when I started to read about closer alot of my old "food" went back on the shelf.

When I first went veggie I used to eat this "fresh" microwave meal (like not the freezer kind) that I loved - spinach and mushroom tortellini. I pretty much ate it every day for lunch for a couple of months until I read the ingredients - it had chicken fat in it! Who would have thought...

It's very difficult without doubt. I'm a vegan mostly because I'm lactose intolerant. Do you have any idea how many foods involve milk products?! Oh my goodness even some breads have milk. And then there's whey which I never knew was dangerous. It's a never ending cycle of fear. However, I've never heard of these other things you guys are mentioning. Disgusting!