Home > Campaigns > Vegetarianism > December 1999 |
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A Glass of Veggie Cheer Mark Gold looks at the hidden animal ingredients in alcohol and how to avoid them. Most people enjoy a glass of alcohol with their food and elsewhere, but as with many food and drink products, booze can contain some unpleasant animal-derived ingredients. Although spirits appear to be mostly OK, it is far harder to be certain about what is in beer, lager and spirits.
'Real ales' may be popular with the punters, but they are invariably unsuitable for strict vegetarians. The problem is in the methods used to clear traditional, cask conditioned beers. Isinglass - a gelatine-like substance taken from the bladder and intestine of fish - is added to hurry along the process. According to The Vegan Society, it is also used routinely in many other beers, including all those produced by leading brewers, Guinness, Bass and Newcastle Brown. Apart from checking individual brands, one simple option is to choose lager brewed in Germany. All brands have to be meet eighteenth century German purity laws which guarantee both a natural clearing process and natural ingredients.
Wines are even more complicated, for the fining process can involve any number of animal products - blood, bone marrow, chitin, egg albumen, fish oil, gelatine, isinglass and milk amongst them. Some of the larger supermarkets do now stock one or two brands which carry a vegetarian symbol, so the best advice is to ask the department manager (or else the manager of your local wine shop) for information. Another easy alternative is to purchase a case of French wine from the Animal Aid catalogue. Each case contains 12 bottles and costs £63.95 (price includes package & postage). You can buy red, white or a mixture of both, with all wines guaranteed 100% free of animal ingredients. If a dozen bottles is a bit much for you, why not consider a joint order with friends and family?
Those who want to see in the new year or celebrate some other event with a glass or two of bubbly (I'm keeping a bottle for the day that hunting is banned!) face similar uncertainties over ingredients used during production, though animal products are less routinely added than in commercial wine making. Once again the choice is to check with the manager before you buy or to celebrate with some organic vegan champers from the Animal Aid catalogue. You can purchase either a whole case or a couple of bottles alongside ten bottles of mixed red and white wine. Finally - though I know that it hardly needs saying - please don't drink any alcohol if you are going to drive and please don't overdo it. |
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