7 Common Hidden Animal-Derived Ingredients to Avoid

At first glance, it might seem like a simple task to avoid animal products in your food if you've elected to do so. After all, meat, dairy, eggs, fish, honey, etc. need no introduction. Not so fast. There's more out there (or should I say "in there"?) than even the most seasoned vegan could imagine. Who knew the dirty little secret behind something called lipase? It's an enzyme from the stomach and tongue glands of calves, kids, and lambs found in some vitamin supplements.

No matter where you stand on the animal exploitation meter, you might want to know that blood from slaughtered animals is used as adhesive in plywood, or that the keratin in your shampoo comes from ground-up horns, hoofs, feathers, quills, and hair of various creatures. Go ahead and see if those aromatic folks behind the cosmetics counter know amylase is an enzyme prepared from the pancreas of hogs. Musk may or may not sound animal-derived, but how enticing is that pricey perfume after discovering it is obtained from the genitals of the North Asian small hornless deer?

This indigestion-inducing inventory goes on below and won't be popular in your local tavern. Some beers contain gelatin, but it's wine that would send shudders down any veggie's spine: isinglass (internal membranes of fish bladders), egg albumen, and even ox blood are often added as fining agents. Yikes...and I haven't yet mentioned abstract ingredients like "cruelty."

So, brace yourselves, here comes the top 8 hidden animal-derived ingredients to avoid: