Substances taken or derived from animals appear in a variety of products including:
- food
- cosmetics
- alcohol
- clothing
- furniture
- medicine
Some animal products, like chicken broth or beef extract, are obvious and easily spotted on an ingredients panel. But others have innocuous-sounding names that you’d never guess are associated with animals. That’s where this list comes in.
Given that animal-derived substances are everywhere, it’s impossible to avoid all exposure to them. But familiarizing yourself with the items named here will help you avoid most non-vegan products.
Animal Ingredients List
The following items are categorized by where they tend to appear. A complete discussion of the economic and ethical implications of animal ingredients appears in chapter 24 of my Ultimate Vegan Guide.
Animal Ingredients in Food Products:
- Amino acids (extensively used in Japanese processed foods. They come from a variety of sources but most are animal-derived.)
- Bee pollen
- Carmine
- Casein
- Cholesterol
- Confectioner’s glaze
- Fish oil
- Gelatin
- Ghee
- Glycerin (can be vegan or animal-derived.)
- Honey
- Isinglass
- Lard
- Lipase
- Rennet
- Retinol
- Shellac
- Tallow
- Whey
In Medicine and Supplements:
- Adrenaline
- Allantoin
- Bone meal
- Collagen
- Cortisone
- Corticosteroid
- Cystine
- Estrogen
- Gelatin (capsules and softgels)
- Linoleic acid
- Pepsin
- Whey
In Cosmetics:
- Allantoin
- Albumin
- Alpha hydroxy acids
- Beeswax
- Biotin
- Carmine
- Collagen
- Cysteine
- Elastin
- Fish scales (guanine)
- Glycerin
- Keratin
- Lanolin
- Snail mucin
- Squalene
- Tallow
- Wax
Animal-Derived Beer/Wine Fining Substances:
- Albumin
- Egg whites
- Gelatin
- Isinglass (fish bladder)
See my beer and wine pages for details.
Animal Skin/Fiber/Feathers in Clothing:
- Cashmere
- Down
- Feathers (commonly sourced from chicken slaughterhouses)
- Fur
- Leather
- Seashells
- Silk
- Suede
- Wool
