Gelatin

I am on a vegetarian/vegan forum and there is a debate going on about gelatin. Is it vegetarian? The majority say no, but there are a select few people on the site who are trying to make the argument that they are still vegetarian even though they eat gelatin. Now, gelatin comes from the bone marrow of an animal, therefore it comes from the tissues of animals. Doesn't sound very vegetarian, does it. But I want your opinion. Is gelatin vegetarian?

If yes, state your reasoning.

It's not, but there are vegetarian geletin and agar substitutes.

Yes, but these people that are claiming to be vegetarians eat the normal gelatin from animals, not in a regular basis, but they don't go out of their way to avoid it, not even try to avoid it. They actually consider it vegetarian. When I went vegetarian last year, I stopped eating gelatin and have not had it since.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

Yes, but these people that are claiming to be vegetarians eat the normal gelatin from animals, not in a regular basis, but they don't go out of their way to avoid it, not even try to avoid it. They actually consider it vegetarian. When I went vegetarian last year, I stopped eating gelatin and have not had it since.

---

It's made from animal bones. I eat rare strip steaks. Do what you want. If it was vegetarian, they wouldn't make a special vegetarian geletin. Well, maybe they would. Hippy food is a huge market.

Hey now, not all vegetarians/vegans are hippies. :P

I would consider gelatin to be okay in a vegetarian diet. It's sooo processed that the base is far removed. If you are VEGAN, then I would consider it to be Non-vegetarian though. It does start with bones and hides.
In short, for dietary reasons, I'd include gelatin in a vegetarian diet, as it's not meat, in a health sense.
For moral reasons, I'd consider gelatin a big no-no in a vegetarian diet.
In a vegan diet, it's absolutely a no-no.
This is all considering ONLY normal gelatin, and not any form that might be offered that IS only made from chemical equivalants, without using the normal bones/hides beginning. I'm sure there are alternative agars, that might be used rather than regular gelatin.
All only my opinion, nothing more.

Vegetarians don't eat the flesh or tissues of animals. I mean, you wouldn't see a vegetarian chomping down on a bone, would you, or eating the marrow? Gelatin is bone marrow. So you are still eating a part of an animal. Its basically the same thing as eating meat, only it is a different part of an animal.

I don't think geletin is made from the marrow. It's from the colagen and connec6tive issue.

I thought some vegetarians eat eggs? Isn't that part of the animal?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

Vegetarians don't eat the flesh or tissues of animals. I mean, you wouldn't see a vegetarian chomping down on a bone, would you, or eating the marrow? Gelatin is bone marrow. So you are still eating a part of an animal. Its basically the same thing as eating meat, only it is a different part of an animal.

---

Bone Marrow? No.... It's made from collagen which is extracted from bones.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

Hey now, not all vegetarians/vegans are hippies. :P

---

its a fine line my friend lol

Bones and hides. Not just the marrow, which is rich in fat, not in collagen.
Vegetarians may eat eggs, milk, cheese... it's all dependant on how strict a vegetarian they are. I would hazard a guess to say it's a individual choice.

Many Muslims won't eat geletin because some of it comes from swine by products...doesn't sound very vegan to me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Thor26

its a fine line my friend lol

---

Not really. I am not a hippie. Sure I'm for the environment, and I don't like the abuse of factory animals, but I am far from one of those "hippies". And the majority of vegetarians that I know are not hippies either.

No this person was not vegan, they were vegetarian. Vegetarians can eat eggs, dairy, and honey. But gelatin is from animal tissue which makes it not vegetarian. Vegans can definitely not have gelatin.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

No this person was not vegan, they were vegetarian. Vegetarians can eat eggs, dairy, and honey. But gelatin is from animal tissue which makes it not vegetarian. Vegans can definitely not have gelatin.

---

Gelatin is not always made from animal tissues (often horse hooves).

There are a couple different ways to make gelatin, and some companies use types of fungi and plant matter instead. ;)

Ah, but it is cheaper for them to use animal sources, so that is what they tend to use.

Umm. Egg is a animal product too. It's a technically a bird fetus. Milk and cheese also come directly from animals, although they can be harvested from a healthy animal, they are a animal product.
Gelatin is made from boiling bones and hides, not hooves. Boiling hooves or horns makes glue, not gelatin. Been there, it's excellant glue BTW.

The egg is a bird "womb". It doesn't actually carry a fetus. It only carries a fetus if the hen bred with a male chicken. The only thing an unfertilized egg carries is the yolk.

Eggs and milk can come from a live animal that doesn't necessarily have to "suffer" (cows are kept continuously pregnant so that they keep producing milk, and in factory situations, the conditions are horrible).

Gelatin comes from a dead animal. You have to kill the animal to get its bones and connective tissues to make gelatin out of.

I recently found out im allergic to milk products. All those years of making fun of hippies is catching up with my. Darn Karma.
But i found substatutes for everything. Even cheese. Called Veggi shredds and slices. Tastes good to. Im glad i can still eat the animals i just cant drink of them. There is a Jello made for vegans/veggitarians. Its made with
Agar-agar flakes. It sets up just like jello. You just add your favorite fruit drink mix.
I bet its really gross

I've used Agar before and it has no real taste. It just has the texture of gelatin. I've used it in a pie before. Didn't turn out half bad, only our blender wasn't a good quality blender and the mixture didn't blend enough. Tasted great though!

That is one thing I do not miss about hanging around vegans... all the nit picky nonsense. If it comes from an animal, it is not vegan. And the "shades" of vegetarianism (lacto, pollo, cuckoo)... so tiresome and tedious.

Gelatin that comes from an animal, by product or not, is not vegan. Same with cheeses that contain enzymes that are external to milk... etc. etc. etc.

If you drink milk... not a vegan... eat eggs... not a vegan... blah blah blah. And vegetarians that eat meat and consume eggs and milk products... whatever. If someone consumes any animal products I do not consider that person a vegetarian. Regardless of the language it is cloaked in.

Either you are or you aren't. It is the equiv of me stating that I have been a vegan since noon.

And before someone corrects me... vegan/vegetarian it is the same to me. Either you are or your aren't.

Bruce

In my opinion; if gelatin is rendered from animal parts, it is not acceptable to be consumed by someone who is vegan. Because its ingredients include dead animals :)
::goes off to gnaw on a chicken leg::

Hey not all vegans are nit-picky. We just like to have people know the correct way to be vegan.

Thank you to everyone who put in their opinions. :) :P

I'm with Bruce on this one. A girlfriend of mine is a Pesca-Vegetarian. She can only eat fish. Meh. Whatever. Eat meat. -Goes to gnaw on a big sausage.-

My husband was a pescetarian (I know I spelled that wrong) for a while. Now he's back to omni, but is considering going vegetarian/vegan. *goes off to eat tofu burger* :P

http://www.ochef.com/199.htm

Never really understand people's lack of grasp of the math on this one...

Vegetarian... the word kind of says it all.

If you eat fish, meat, chicken, eggs, or milk... not a vegetarian.

Vegetarian... do not EAT any animal products.

Vegan... do not CONSUME any animal products (leather, thread, etc.).

One of the reasons I am no longer vegan.

Just seems that people constantly equate vegetarians as vegans, and meat eaters as vegetarians...

Bruce

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

My husband was a pescetarian (I know I spelled that wrong) for a while.

---

Then he is a meat eater, not a vegetarian...

I believe gelatin is produced from boiling bones or something like that.