Halle Williams admits that she isn’t pure — pure vegan, that is. The 21-year-old history major has been a vegan off and on since the age of 14. While still identifying herself as a vegan, she will break the rules when the occasional free vegetarian baked good passes her way.
Williams may consume an egg or two when she strays from the traditional vegan definition, but according to her “hardcore” vegan friends, she would be labeled vegetarian, she said.
According to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Web site, vegetarianism consists of omitting direct consumption of animals from one’s diet. Some vegetarians simply avoid pieces of meat; many others avoid all meat products, such as chicken or beef broth and gelatin. Veganism, however, eliminates consumption of any animal products, including cheese and other dairy products, eggs and, for strict vegans, honey — it comes from bees, after all. Williams said it is “really hard to avoid” everything that is linked to animal products.
There are times when the presence of animal products is more apparent than others. Eating out can be tricky if one doesn’t know the typical ingredients that are part of a given dish.
The PETA Web site says there are a few ingredients vegetarians and vegans should frequently watch out for when eating out. Lard (pig fat) is often used in Mexican foods. Oyster sauce can frequently be found in Asian stir-frys, and soups often contain chicken or beef broth as a base.
PETA suggests asking a chef or server which ingredients in a meal might come from animals and ask for a vegetable substitute. However, trusting the server doesn’t necessarily guarantee an animal-free meal.
Sometimes the person at the counter will “give you the right answer” to get your business, Holy Cow Cafe co-owner Kathee Lavine said. If someone isn’t familiar with not-so-obvious animal ingredients, it can be easy to neglect to mention those ingredients, Lavine said.
She mentioned a memory of eating out when a chef was preparing her veggie dish in front of her. “He dragged a rag over my plate, just after he touched it to the meat dishes, and there I was — eating meat,” she said.
Grocery shopping requires a different set of precautions. Williams discussed the dangers of packaged foods, saying they “have all sorts of weird things in them.”
Lavine agrees with the mystery of listed ingredients.
“What exactly is ‘natural flavoring’?” Lavine asked rhetorically. She said that because the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t regulate the term “natural flavor,” foods with natural flavors can contain animal extracts.
According to both Williams and Lavine, McDonald’s got into turmoil recently over its use of “natural flavor and seasonings.” The hamburger retailer has historically defended its French fries as vegetarian, until the recent discovery of meat derivatives in the seasoning, they said.
Other ingredients to watch out for when reading labels are gelatin (derived from animal hooves, skin and bones), whey, honey, milk derivatives and rennet (derived from inner intestine), Williams said.
Lavine recommends looking for parve or kosher certification on packages. Items that are kosher are regulated to be animal-free for religious purposes.
Lavine has been a vegetarian since 1971, and she said conditions for fellow vegetarians have been steadily improving.
She said “it was really hard” in the ’70s, but currently it is “pretty easy” to be vegetarian.