Labels And Labeling
“Thus, whether we call children, land, patents, blood, or animals, ‘property’ or ‘not property’ is essentially symbolic. No real difference is created by changing the label. We could call circus animals ‘not property’ and it would make no more difference in itself than calling patents ‘limited monopolies’ instead of the more pretentious ‘intellectual property,’”
wrote Joel at AnimalBlawg.
He’s in law school and so his theory is often law related. The above is one example. But he makes a good point that labels don’t matter as much as how the labeled are treated.
Somewhat related: What’s in your food that looks vegan, but isn’t?
Look at the labels to see what’s in your food, clothing, and household products. You can’t trust a label that says “vegetarian” “vegan” “organic” “kosher” or “parve” because the standards are not always consistent, if there are standards, and because many companies do not always abide by the standards. The actual ingredient listing is more accurate.
However, the ingredients may be vague, such as “natural flavoring” or “emulsifier,” and may or may not contain animal products. So the safest thing is to cook yourself or eat at vegan-only restaurants. But that is not always possible.
I’m still learning myself, but here’s what I found so far…
From the slaughter house: lard, animal shortening, gelatin, cholesterol, suet, and tallow.
Fish: isinglass, cholecalciferol, anchovies.
Sheep: lanolin, wool, lan-, lano-.
Dairy: cream, cheese, butter, yogurt, whey, koumiss, kefir, ghee, paneer, lactose, rennet, rennin, and casein.
Eggs: albumin.
Insects: carmine, cochineal, carminic acid, propolis, honey, beeswax, royal jelly, bee pollen, shellac, and silk.
Other animal products: musk, ambergris, civet, and sepia.
Some additional resources:
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