Just need to vent somewhere.

[GinnyMama]

I feel so incredibly stupid, and absolutely sick. I just found out today that a product that I thought was made out of fruits and vegetables is actually made out of animals. I've been eating it, in all sorts of different foods.

When I found out, I tried to just brush it off... chalk it up to experience, and count it as a lesson learned for the future. But I just feel so sad and sick that I was eating it. Nobody I know IRL is a vegetarian, and DH just can't understand why I feel sick about it.

Anyway. I know this forum is more about diet and such, but had I posted it anywhere else, I don't think many would understand.

Am I just being silly about it? Would any of you be upset if you had learned something you've been eating (probably on a daily basis... as it's in so many foods) was made from animals?

[SollysMom]

I would be upset too! What is the food? I hope it's not something I frequently eat too...

[Baby_Cakes]

Hmm, I want to know what it is, too.

I think I would feel pretty guilty for awhile, but the truth is we all make mistakes. There are only so many ways we can control what animal products we use, and you were not purposely eating this food product knowing it was made of animals.

I know for a lot of veg*ns it is about purity. But it's really about trying to make a difference in the long run. The big picture. It sucks when you think you've been doing something 100% only to find out you've been making a mistake. But your heart has been in the right place the whole time. You've made a conscious effort to drastically reduce eating animals/animal products, and I think you need to cut yourself some slack.

I bought the morningstar crumbles and ate them a few times before knowing they put eggs back in. I was more mad at the company than at myself for eating them. I didn't know. I don't buy them anymore, so going fwd I know I won't make that same mistake.

Just learn from it. s

[GinnyMama]

I highly doubt it's something you've been eating, too. That's why I feel so incredibly stupid. I was confusing "pectin" and "gelatin" in my head. I knew that once upon a time, gelatin was made from animals, but I honestly, truly didn't think that they did that anymore. I thought that they made it from fruits and veggies. I found out today because I had some sour cream with veggie tacos... read the label... and just out of weird curiosity, I asked my husband what it was made out of. Yeah. Then I googled it.

And I feel so awful.

[greenemami]

Don't feel too bad-it was an honest mistake! If it makes you feel better, I was a vegetarian for literally a couple of years before I had any idea gelatin was made out of animal products and ate it all the time.

[caiesmommy]

Originally Posted by greenemami

Don't feel too bad-it was an honest mistake! If it makes you feel better, I was a vegetarian for literally a couple of years before I had any idea gelatin was made out of animal products and ate it all the time.

I didn't eat gelatin very often but I had no idea what it was made out of! I think gelatin is def. one that sneaks through for a lot of people

[mumkimum]

Gelatin is sometimes hard to avoid - it's hidden in a lot of foods you wouldn't think about (even gum) so don't be too hard on yourself.

And I totally understand feeling sick about it. I once got this fantastic homemade strawberry-rhubarb pie, and noticed after having eaten some that it had been made with lard in the crust. I was devastated and grossed out and totally disappointed in myself too.

[Adaline'sMama]

I was going to these potlucks for three years and my friend Albert would always bring amazing quiche. They were always vegetarian (seemingly). He knew it was an all veg potluck. Being a meat eater he didnt realize that we considered lard "meat". I found out about a month ago that the amazing quiche was actually made with lard. I have felt guilty and gross every day for eating it. Its almost like it negates my being vegetarian for all those years.

I know it was a mistake, and I just need to get over it, but I totally understand how you feel.

[crunchy_mommy]

I have struggled with this!! I have freaked out over accidentally eating something that *might* have had butter in it! And I was vegetarian for 10-12 years before I found out that honey is bee vomit and gelatin is animal bones. And don't even talk to me about rennet...

You can't beat yourself up over something you had no knowledge of.

Also, it's almost impossible to be 100% vegetarian. Half the foods in the store are likely cross-contaminated with trace amounts of animal products. There are probably animal products in your car tires, your shoes, your soap... You just do the best you can.

Can I tell you a secret? OK it won't be a secret now that I'm posting it publickly ... I have a favorite restaurant that DH & I go to several times a year. Their pizza is sooo yummy, as is their bread. And I am 80% sure the bread, pizza crust, etc. isn't vegan. But I've purposely avoided checking the ingredients (even though I'm adamant about ingredients everywhere else no matter what I'm eating), because I couldn't bear not eating there ever again OR the thought of all those non-vegan meals I digested. I just request no cheese, no butter, etc. and enjoy my pizza several times a year. Does that make me not vegan? Maybe, I'll never know.

[somegirl99]

Honest mistakes happen to all of us.

A few months ago I ate a handful of a package of roasted pumpkin seeds before it occurred to me to look at the ingredients. I don't remember the brand, but it was full of chemicals and something non-veggie, I believe gelatin. I was shocked - in pumpkin seeds, of all things?

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by somegirl99

A few months ago I ate a handful of a package of roasted pumpkin seeds before it occurred to me to look at the ingredients. I don't remember the brand, but it was full of chemicals and something non-veggie, I believe gelatin. I was shocked - in pumpkin seeds, of all things?

Pumpkin seeds!?!?!?! Seriously?!?!! Wow that is messed up... I only read the packages of seeds because I hate salt but I don't think I ever saw seeds that contained animal products. :Puke

[mommajb]

This is what trips up my kds - gelatin in unsuspecting items, rennet in cheese and lard in pie crust. I don't beat them up over it (or myself) when it happens. It is a lesson learned.