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<p>I don’t and that’s something I don’t even hear brought up much among vegans. Random things that some vegans do worry about that might seem extreme:
-Sugar that uses bone char in the bleaching process
-Beer and wine that use some kond of fish by-product for filtration
-Cereal fortified with animal derived vitamin D. Many cereal brands don’t actually say which form of D they use, so it’s unclear whether the cereal is really vegan or not
-Glycerin in food or make-up/body products. It can be animal or vegetable sourced but labels don’t need to specify which one.
-Lanolin and beeswax in makeup/body products</p>
<p>And then of course there’s the whole issue of leather, silk and wool in clothing. Or what the glue in your pleather shoes is made out of.</p>
<p>I avoid those things when I can, but I also think realistically there’s only so much I can do, especially since I live on a very tight budget. I’m not going to get rid of clothes. I have a hard enough time buying shoes that fit (DD width and flat feet) so I generally try not to buy leather but I really don’t worry about it beyond that.</p>
<p>I became vegetarian when I was 11 because I really didn’t want to eat animals personally. It wasn’t an animal-activism thing, the idea just started squicking me out.</p>
<p>I became vegan because I realized that factory-farmed dairy and eggs really aren’t any better. And I’ve come into the realization that milk really isn’t that good for us. Eating another species’ breastmilk as an adult? A lot of people do develop lactose intolerances later in life. I’m a little bit less clear on eggs because unlike dairy (cows have to be forcibly inseminated and separated from their young to keep producing milk), healthy chickens will continue to lay eggs, and they’re not something that they need. I might eat eggs if I had a really good source, but I’m not very trustful. I read recently that even many certified free range farms debeak, for example, and that’s not something I want to support. But my family used to have backyard chickens and if I had pet chickens, I’d have no issues with eating the eggs.</p>
<p>These are all my personal decisions. I don’t actually think that the whole world should stop eating meat. I do think that factory farming and the way animal agriculture is in this country right now is seriously messed up and smaller, local options are always better. Probably a better product, too. It’s one of those things where it’s all about what I personally feel comfortable with. My food-buying ethics are also tied to a lot more than animals -vs-non, though – I try to buy local when I can and buy fair trade coffee and and try to avoid companies with notorious sweat shop practices. I don’t want to be all about not exploiting animals while putting my dollar votes into exploiting people.</p>