11 Weird Items Made From Animal Parts

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[b]1.Fabric Softener [/b]


What could possibly make your sheets feel more Downy fresh than a nice schmear of rendered animal fat? [i]Dihydrogenatedtallow dimethyl ammonium chloride[/i]—a roundabout way of saying fat from animals like horses and sheep—is used by some commercial fabric softeners to coat your clothes with a soft, fluffy layer of lipids.


[b]2. Pink Drinks[/b]
Cochineal, natural red 4, crimson lake, carmine, carminic acid—call it what you will, but the additive that gives many drinks their distinctive pink color,from wine coolers to ruby-red grapefruit juices, is made from crushed South American bugs. The female cochineal insect has been harvested for dye since the era of the Aztecs. Depending on the way in which the insect is killed (methods include boiling alive, exposure to sunlight, steaming, and baking), it produces a range of reddish tints. It takes approximately 70,000 insects to make one pound of dye.


[b]3. Wine & Beer[/b]

Some people drink like fish. Others just drink fish—or at least, the dried,ground-up swim bladders of fish. Isinglass, derived mostly from sturgeon and cod bladders, is used to clarify and remove impurities from many varieties of wine and beer. Small amounts of isinglass remain in the products when finished.


[b]4. Flu Vaccine[/b]

A variety of vaccine rumors and conspiracy theories abound. One true one,however, is this: Fertilized chicken eggs in the embryonic phase are used to cultivate the inactivated flu virus that is injected into millions of people every year. The vaccine was originally developed by the U.S. military for use in World War II, to help prevent a recurrence of the Spanish Influenza that killed 50 million people in the wake of World War I.


[b]5. Cigarettes[/b]

The multitude of sins that can be hidden under the phrase "processing aids"—a catch all term for ingredients used to control tar and nicotine content in cigarettes—apparently includes pigs' blood. New Dutch research from March of this year has found traces of porcinehemo goblin in the filters of some brands of cigarettes. In blood, hemoglobin bonds to oxygen to transport it throughout the body; in filters, it bonds to passing toxins and removes them from the smoke before it enters the lungs.


[b]6. Lipstick[/b]


Some shimmery lipsticks owe their twinkle to a rather lowly source—fish scales. According to The Straight Dope, a syndicated question-and-answer column published in over 30 newspapers nationwide, herring scales, a byproduct of commercial food fishing, are processed into a product called "pearl essence,"which can be found in lipsticks, nail polishes, ceramic glazes, and other sparkly stuff. The fish are caught in giant nets and pumped into boats, a process that flenses the scales from their bodies, often while still alive. The scales are then sold to cosmetic companies.


[b]7. Sugar[/b]


When it comes to sugar, the phrase "bone white" isn't a metaphor. According to the non-profit Vegetarian Resource Group, cane sugar is often bleached using bone char from horses and cows, a.k.a. "natural charcoal." Bone particles don't end up in the final product; rather, the bone char is used as a fiddler, like apiece of cheesecloth made from ponies. An average sugar fiddler contains about70,000 pounds of bone char from approximately 7,800 animals. To avoid bone charen tirely, buy sugar derived from beets, not sugar cane.


[b]8. Hormone Replacement Therapy[/b]
Premarin, the popular estrogen-replacement drug for menopausal women, take sits name from its main ingredient: PREgnant MARes' urINe. Since 1942, female horses have been impregnated and fitted with theequine equivalent of colostomy bags. These gather their urine, which is then processed to produce estrone, equilin, and equilenin. Historically, the foals were eventually sent to slaughterhouses, though today, many pregnant mares'urine (PMU) operations also act as traditional horse breeders.


[b]9. Bloody Marys[/b]

Sometimes it's the ingredients in the ingredients that make a product not vegetarian. Bloody Marys, the reliable brunch standby, are usually made wit htomato juice, vodka, celery, and Worcestershire sauce, which contains anchovies,making it literally bloody. Some Bloody Mary recipes also call for bee fconsommé. There are vegetarian Worcestershire sauces out there, so just ask to see the label before you order.


[b]10. Heparin[/b]
The anticoagulant drug heparin is derived from the slippery mucosal tissue found in pig's intestines and cow's lungs. Used to treat blood clots, it was originally isolated in dog livers in 1916, and has since been found in a long list of animals, including sand dollars, humans, camels, whales, mice,fresh-water mussels, lobsters, and turkeys. Its natural purpose in the body is still not fully understood.


[b]11. Green Motor Oil[/b]

"Green" doesn't always mean animal-free. Some companies have taken to replacing traditional petrochemical-based motor oil with cow fat. Companies claim to be able to make as much as one barrel of oil per barrel of tallow, as compared with the three barrels of petroleum needed to make one barrel of traditional motor oil.

[fides quarens intellectum]

ew.

[let_go_let_God]

Hmm makes you think twice about some things huh?

God bless-
LGLG

[Hilde]

I have a carmine lollipop. Mmmmm, bugs.

[Sternhauser]

Ivory soap. 99-44/100ths pure... "sodium tallowate." Tallow. Oh yes. Beef fat. You're not fully clean unless you're beef tallow clean.

~Sternhauser

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

[quote name='apparently' date='30 May 2010 - 03:10 PM' timestamp='1275250205' post='2120763']
[b]8. Hormone Replacement Therapy[/b]
Premarin, the popular estrogen-replacement drug for menopausal women, take sits name from its main ingredient: PREgnant MARes' urINe. Since 1942, female horses have been impregnated and fitted with theequine equivalent of colostomy bags. These gather their urine, which is then processed to produce estrone, equilin, and equilenin. Historically, the foals were eventually sent to slaughterhouses, though today, many pregnant mares'urine (PMU) operations also act as traditional horse breeders.

[/quote]

To be fair, most HRT nowadays uses estrogen and progesterone that are the generic chemical equivalents of the chemicals produced by the body. Premarin use has been decreasing for a number of years because of its cost, and because of growing awareness that horses may be treated inhumanely in the process of making Premarin. Also, the studies that showed a small increase in heart disease among women using Premarin, and got LOTS of publicity in the press, were only conducted using Premarin as the estrogen replacement. I'm not aware of any studies of that magnitude using the the chemical equivalents of the estrogen produced by a woman's body, so we don't know if the long-term effects of those chemicals would be the same or different.

That said, there remains the possibility of risks and side effects associated with HRT (although many women experience no side effects at all). In the end, it is a decision for each individual to make, in consultation with her physician.

Note: I am neither for nor against HRT. Women's bodies are very different from each other, and the experience of menopause can vary from having no symptoms, to having such severe symptoms that treatment of some type is indicated, because the symptoms interfere with work, and/or the ability to carry out the activities of daily living. I simply wanted to clarify that HRT does not require the use of Premarin--not to express any opinion about HRT.

I've had so many bad experiences of people who know nothing about my medical condition(s) telling me what is best for me medically, that, in response, I try very hard not to make value judgements about other peoples' medical conditions and treatments. In the end, only a woman and her doctor can decide what is best medically, and what the woman feels most comfortable doing, if she is having problems with menopausal symptoms. If a woman feels "pushed" by her doctor to use HRT when she feels uncomfortable with it (or vice versa), then it's time to change doctors to one who listens, and takes ALL a woman's concerns into account, including religious values.

Edited May 30, 2010 by IgnatiusofLoyola

[BG45]

Well that makes me think of my pink lemonade yesterday in a whole new light...

[Vincent Vega]

[quote name='apparently' date='30 May 2010 - 04:10 PM' timestamp='1275250205' post='2120763']
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[b]11. Green Motor Oil[/b]

"Green" doesn't always mean animal-free.
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Well no duh. Green means "good for the environment" (or at least allegedly), not "vegan".

[Vincent Vega]

[quote name='apparently' date='30 May 2010 - 04:10 PM' timestamp='1275250205' post='2120763']
[b] [/b]


[b]11. Green Motor Oil[/b]

"Green" doesn't always mean animal-free.
[/quote]
Well no duh. Green means "good for the environment" (or at least allegedly), not "vegan".

[Hilde]

deja vu, man

[Nihil Obstat]

I thought motor oil was a kind of really dark brown. Shows what I know.

[Catholic Fox]

[quote name='Nihil Obstat' date='30 May 2010 - 09:51 PM' timestamp='1275274282' post='2120992']
I thought motor oil was a kind of really dark brown. Shows what I know.
[/quote]

That's used. Fresh stuff is more of a golden color.

[Archaeology cat]

Beet sugar is better anyway, IMO.

[Sojourner]

I have a good friend who's vegan, and whenever he comes over he goes through my kitchen and tells me everything that's not up to snuff. To me, it doesn't matter one way or another because I'm not vegan, and don't believe there's anything wrong with incorporating animals or animal byproducts into food or other items. The only reasons one would think this was an issue are squeamishness or veganism. Otherwise, what's the big deal?

[quote name='Archaeology cat' date='31 May 2010 - 12:26 AM' timestamp='1275287197' post='2121078']
Beet sugar is better anyway, IMO.
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I went through a period (thanks to my vegan friend) when I paid attention to whether I was getting cane or beet sugar. Most times it's impossible to tell -- the ingredient is listed simply as "sugar" without any indication of its source. From what I've read, cane sugar is better in baking, especially in candies, but honestly I rarely do delicate recipes like that where it would make a significant difference. So I just don't care which one I get. There are so many other things in life to worry about ... sugar just doesn't make the cut.

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='Terra Firma' date='31 May 2010 - 11:05 AM' timestamp='1275318359' post='2121160']
I went through a period (thanks to my vegan friend) when I paid attention to whether I was getting cane or beet sugar. Most times it's impossible to tell -- the ingredient is listed simply as "sugar" without any indication of its source. From what I've read, cane sugar is better in baking, especially in candies, but honestly I rarely do delicate recipes like that where it would make a significant difference. So I just don't care which one I get. There are so many other things in life to worry about ... sugar just doesn't make the cut.
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I've got nothing against sugar beets per se, but it is now another GMO infiltrated commodity crop, that's the basis of my aversion to industrial beet sugar.

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Patented, genetically modified beets, plus factory love, equals yummy for my tummy. jk. Oh, can't forget plenty of Roundup. It's like buttah.

[IMG]http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h119/NoonienSoong_2006/sugar_factory.jpg[/IMG]

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