Animal Ingredients A-Z

An excellent and very informative resource for any vegan, vegetarian or anyone who's concerned about what exactly it is you're actually eating.I'm an ovo-lacto vegetarian myself and I was surprised at how many things they sneakily put into our food. I was aware of some of the more obvious things (renet, gelatin, etc.), but still stunned at things I would have never thought could contain animal products - such as beer, wine, some waxes used to polish fruits to make them look more fresh - it's astounding!The only contention I have with this book is that it focuses mainly on American products, being written in the States it makes sense, but for a future edition I would love to see more Canadian and maybe European products added to the book.Extremely well researched, using a variety of sources (which can be found at the end of the book) - definately a book to pick up.

I personally think this is a great book for beginning vegans or anyone who is concerned with products having animal ingredients in them. It covers a wide variety of topics - everything from common myths, to nutrition, to the names of animal ingredients and what they are. The book is set up in a way that's easy to read. You could use it as a reference guide to let you know if a certian product contains animal ingredients, but my personal favorite chapter is the one on nutrition. Many new vegans have concerns about what vitamins they need and where to get them from. This book explains it all. I give it two thumbs up. I highly recommend everyone buy and read it several times. It's a very nice addition to any book collection. --Reviewed by Melissa White

I purchased this book because the industry puts so many pork by products in foods under various names, that it is difficult for Muslims to know exactly what is in some of these products. Certain Muslim groups also don't eat meat that is not slaughted in the name of God, which means that the supermarket meat is of limits. (many Jews also only eat "kosher meat")Therefore, it's often not just pork that the Muslims must watch out for in these products, it is also any meat by product. While Muslims do eat dairy products, this book is an invaluable guide in aiding them to discover the hidden meat by products in food stuffs. I had no idea about many things on the list, and frankly I'm appauled at how sneaky the industry is in slipping meat by products into our foods under various chemical names, and even in wax coatings of some produce and wax paper. I was also shocked to read about how many companies listed such as Heinz and Lipton give vague responses regarding the content of the "natural flavorings" listed in their product.

This is a great book for vegans new and old. Very good information to help you eliminate all animal derived ingredients (if that is your choice) or to distinguish between animal and veggie ingredients. I found this book indispensable as a new vegan and miss it now (i gave it to a new vegan and she never gave it back *grin*). Now that it's available again I'll be purchasing a new copy!

Contrary to Mr. or Ms. Net(@disinfo.com or whatever...)'s review, the truth is that mono and diglycerides ARE, in fact, usually derived from animal products. Not to start a debate, but from all of the resources I've referenced (including having called many manufacturers of food products), Mr./Ms. Net's "disinfo" is wrong. It just goes to show how unwilling our culture is to admit to the far-reaching powers of the meat and dairy industries. Realize that you and everyone else who is a part of any form of Western Culture is subjected to images and other various forms of propaghanda daily that try to dispell what organizations like C.o.K. have uncovered: that we are lied to and that various industries pay lots of money to see that we are ignorant of the truth (i.e. the original four food groups)--we don't need animal products to live, survive, make us strong, etc., and it's better for us that we don't consume such products.All in all, this guide will provide the health-conscious compassionate consumer on his/her way to knowing once and for all whether certain food products are "safe" and cruelty free. On a personal note: beware of what you are subjected to in your lives (what you read, hear, see may not necessarily be the truth and in America, it's usually not).