The Vegan Friendly ; Your Guide to Going Vegan

Whether you want to make more vegan choices for yourself or you want to learn more about where and how animal products are used, the first step is understanding what it means for a product to be vegan-friendly. But it’s also important to understand the various ways that some things can turn out to be unsuitable for vegans.
Just a heads up: there’s a lot to learn, and you might be surprised at how many things aren’t vegan. This video is a helpful little starter guide to help you navigate what’s what in the world of being vegan-friendly.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

What Exactly Is Vegan Friendly?

Vegan-friendly products do not contain animal ingredients or animal-derived ingredients. However, it also implies that no animals or animal products were used in its development.
When it comes to product labeling, the distinction between “vegan” and “vegan-friendly” or “suitable for vegans” may only be related to certification from a vegan organization. These certifications also guarantee that the product was not subjected to animal testing. Because vegan does not always imply cruelty-free.
Some products that use animal testing can still be labeled vegan because their ingredients are vegan.
So, for some, veganism may include the absence of animal testing as well as the absence of animal-derived ingredients.

How Can You Tell If Packaged Foods Are Vegan?

Labels have progressed significantly! As veganism grows in popularity, more brands are making an effort to highlight their vegan-friendliness on the label. However, there are a couple of ways a brand can obtain a more “official” vegan seal of approval.

A “Vegan Trademark” indicates that a product has been approved by the Vegan Society for certification as a vegan product. If a company or manufacturer refers to a product as vegan but it has not been registered with the Vegan Trademark, the Vegan Society may refer to it as “vegan-friendly” instead of vegan.

The Vegan Awareness Foundation, the organization behind Vegan.org, also provides certification. Any product bearing the “Certified Vegan” logo has been subjected to an approval process to ensure that no animal products are present. Products must be cruelty-free in order to be certified vegan by either organization.

However, not every vegan-friendly product has applied for the right to use a trademark or certification, and it may simply label itself “vegan-friendly” or “suitable for vegans.” It isn’t any less vegan because it hasn’t been vetted by an outside organization to ensure it meets their standards.

Finally, not all vegan products are clearly labeled as such or at all. Don’t be put off if something you want doesn’t advertise its vegan-ness on the label. However, read the ingredient list to find out more. Scanning for allergen information and seeing if it says “contains milk, eggs, shellfish” is an easy way to tell if something is vegan.

What Are the Non-Vegan Food Ingredients?

There are numerous non-vegan ingredients! Some foods that you might expect to be completely vegan may contain one or more animal-derived ingredients. Aside from obvious things like milk and eggs, there are many foods and products that appear to be vegan but aren’t.

Beer, wine, or fruit juice, for example, may be filtered, defoamed, or clarified using animal products. While the wine is made from grapes, it may be filtered using animal-derived “fining agents” such as casein, blood and bone marrow, egg albumen, chitin, fish oil, gelatin, or isinglass. So wine, which appears to be a “given” vegan product, may not be vegan at all.

Don’t worry, vegan wine drinkers: animal-based fining agents like carbon, bentonite clay, limestone, kaolin clay, plant casein, silica gel, and vegetable plaques can be substituted. Because most wines do not list their fining agents, look for wines that are labeled as vegan, vegan-friendly, or “unfiltered.”

If you want to go deeper, Peta has compiled a comprehensive list of animal-derived ingredients and their substitutes.

So, what are the most popular vegan-friendly foods?

Plant-based foods and whole grains are usually your best bets for vegan-friendly foods. You’ll be off to a good start if you keep it simple and look for foods that have few ingredients or, better yet, are the ingredients. But here’s a quick rundown:
Vegetables and fruits
Peas, beans, and lentils are examples of legumes.
Tempeh, seitan, and tofu
Seeds and nuts
Some breads, rice, and pastas
Milks made from plants
Oils derived from plants

How Can I Locate Vegan-Friendly Restaurants?

Make use of Happy Cow! Happy Cow has vegan restaurant reviews, guides to healthy vegetarian food, natural food stores, and a list of vegan-friendly options nearby, as well as recipes and travel.

What else may not be vegan, besides food?

Everything, to be honest! This could be the most difficult aspect of being vegan-friendly. Most household items are worth checking to see if they are vegan. Soap, shampoo, skincare products, makeup, laundry detergent, and clothing are examples of non-vegan items. Several ingredients that appear in a number of these products can render them vegan-unfriendly. Fortunately, there is a vegan alternative for almost everything; you just need to know how to spot both.

Glycerine, a product used in a variety of personal care items, is an animal fat, but vegetable glycerin is also available, which is acceptable to vegans. So, in the ingredient list, look for the word “vegetable” before glycerine.

Is it possible to find vegan-friendly apps?

Yes! There are some excellent apps that can serve as guides, such as:

Is It Vegan, Cruelty-Free, Vegaholic, AirVegan, Gonutss, Food Monster?
Whether you are interested in vegan products for health reasons, animal cruelty concerns, or to help the environment, becoming more vegan-friendly is a worthwhile journey. There is much to learn, but once you become acquainted with vegan labels, terms, and ingredients, it will become second nature. As with anything, the beginning can be difficult, but with time, shopping for vegan products will become second nature.