I hate extra ingredients...

[Nadira]

Here I am, going, "I have little baggies of peanuts that my friend gave me. This is great!" My friends know that I am vegetarian, and I don't think twice about reading the back. "Ok, peanuts it is!"

Half way through the bag, I get this funny taste. This forbidden taste...something isn't right. That funny feeling, of uh-oh.

I turn over the back, MSG. Seriously? Ok, I am going to bed soon, I can live with that. HFCS. In peanuts? Um.... then "Gelatin". I ran to the trash can and spit everything out. Washed my mouth out. (I go further than this, and rid the contents from my stomach...not a happy past time, so I hate doing this).

Why does peanuts have gelatin in it?!


So after feeling like a total idiot, who is now swishing baking soda and water, I guess I have to go back to the days of reading ALL labels, even if it is on a bag of peanuts.

Ever been in this situation? What do you do? Ever self induce vomiting after accidentally eating something that isn't in your veg*n diet?

Now, I wonder what I've been eating, when going to my friends...greeeeeeeeeeat!  

[LorienLlewellyn]

I swear they stick animal products into things just for the heck of it. Animal products are in so many places that they do not need to be and should not even be.

I have eaten things only to find out gelatin or something was in it. Usually it's so much later that I couldn't even throw it up if I wanted to. But even if I catch it quick enough that I could throw it up, I don't throw it up. For one thing, I really hate throwing up. For another, I hate wasting food. For another, I hate wasting water, so I wouldn't want to flush the toilet unless I had to. And for another, I don't know, I guess I feel like throwing it up wouldn't accomplish much. The animal will still be dead. The company that killed the animal will still have its profit from the murder and the sale of the dead animal. I feel like it's almost even more insulting to the animal to throw it up. I figure if it's already in my body, I might as well digest it so that at least my body will use the nutrients that the animal gave. If I throw it up, then it's like he died for nothing at all. All it would accomplish is that it would make my body more pure in a sense, but not by all that much since, like I said, I've accidentally eaten other things that I only realized way later that I shouldn't have eaten. So I'd rather take the small hit to my personal purity and save water, save food, and make use of those nutrients at that point.  

[Nadira]

LorienLlewellyn

I swear they stick animal products into things just for the heck of it. Animal products are in so many places that they do not need to be and should not even be.

I have eaten things only to find out gelatin or something was in it. Usually it's so much later that I couldn't even throw it up if I wanted to. But even if I catch it quick enough that I could throw it up, I don't throw it up. For one thing, I really hate throwing up. For another, I hate wasting food. For another, I hate wasting water, so I wouldn't want to flush the toilet unless I had to. And for another, I don't know, I guess I feel like throwing it up wouldn't accomplish much. The animal will still be dead. The company that killed the animal will still have its profit from the murder and the sale of the dead animal. I feel like it's almost even more insulting to the animal to throw it up. I figure if it's already in my body, I might as well digest it so that at least my body will use the nutrients that the animal gave. If I throw it up, then it's like he died for nothing at all. All it would accomplish is that it would make my body more pure in a sense, but not by all that much since, like I said, I've accidentally eaten other things that I only realized way later that I shouldn't have eaten. So I'd rather take the small hit to my personal purity and save water, save food, and make use of those nutrients at that point.

That's a good point. I guess the reason I vomit afterwards, relates to my believe of reincarnation. I have this idea that I just ate Grandpa.

Yeah, I don't know if giving Grandpa over to the Porcelain Gods is any better...ah..craziness.

Thanks for your input.  

[Kecitich]

lol You've eaten half a bag and discovered something you do not want to eat. As long as your friend just wanted to be nice to you, even yourself being quite careless. I don't see you should feel too upset about this. Read the label then enjoy the food 3nodding Sometimes they put milk solid into soya milk. rofl  

[Sparrow-chan]

I agree... inducing vomiting is a rather extreme reaction and I'd only do it if I really thought not throwing up would make me even sicker.

(My body has gone without large amounts of animal protein for so long that eating such would make me sick as a dog. Although it would be rather hard to eat that much "accidentally". rofl "Ooops I thought that steak was tofu?" lol yeah right not gonna happen)

A few times I've had things (soups, for example) that had chicken or beef broth in and I didn't know it. (Some restaurants are notorious for lying about stuff like that.) That's enough to give me a stomach ache later - which clues me in to not eat that again, ever. Usually I just vote not to eat something if I'm unsure about it though. (ie: if I don't talk to the cook personally)

...I am pretty obsessive about reading labels. I know my friends/family know I'm vegetarian and try to offer only veg'n things - but they don't know all the sneaky stuff, and some people define "vegetarian" differently (fish/seafood/meat broth is NOT okay with me) so I always double-check myself.

Another sneaky thing to look out for is lard. Animal fat is snuck into the weirdest things sometimes: cookies/cakes/desserts, baked beans or bean dishes, for example. Or bacon. Why do people feel bacon is a flavoring to be sprinkled or mixed into all sorts of things? They ruin a perfectly good salad!

I don't freak out about gelatin, myself. I'm not vegan, and don't have the access to realistically even attempt to be vegan right now. (I hope to one day...) But one of the main reasons I'm NOT vegan is because of all those sneaky little side ingredients you mentioned. One has to be very careful and usually to maintain nutrition buy special vegan foods - which are expensive, assuming one can even find them. (I'm poor, and I don't live in an area with easy access to health foods or organic foods.)

My logic: Do the best that you can, with what you have. Live life by example, like one of my favorite quotes "Be the change you wish to see in the world." but don't sweat the small stuff.... no one can be perfect.  

[Peppermint Cherry]

Like everyone said, throwing up doesn't accomplish much except make you feel like s**t(I don;t know about you, but I don't feel good for a while after I throw up =/) It was an accident and now you know. So all is well. And I can't believe that. Gelatin in peanut, wtf? They're solid, why do they need anything to make them more solid?