Stephan and I have been vegan(ish) for a few years now. It’s only “ish” because while we are 98% vegan at home (you would not believe the things they slip whey powder into over here!), we don’t try as hard when we’re out. This is because a) it is a giant pain and b) we don’t care enough about it to impose our dietary restrictions upon anyone who is awesome enough to cook or otherwise provide meals for us.
Obviously we are not the animal rights type of vegan. If you are really serious about not exploiting animals, you don’t wear leather or wool and you don’t eat honey. Some don’t eat foods made with active yeast (“I suppose that beyond the technical classification [fungus: animal or vegetable?] is the more relevant question: is it sentient? does it feel pain?”) or yogurt because of the bacteria cultures.
More bad news: no more Skittles for you! Apparently, at least in the UK, the rumor is that they are glazed with shellac, which—this just in—is made from the “resinous secretions” of the lac bug. Plus whatever hapless lacs have fallen into the mix, of course.
Yum yum! Animal exploitation FTW.
