Products made from cattle

[Jenn]

Comment: My understanding is that this photo has been going around for a
while. It's got a fairly sizable list of items. Just not sure how accurate it is.

[AnglRdr]

How do you make refined sugar out of the bones of cows?

[Jenn]

Filters used by some cane sugar refineries may be made from cattle bone char, which decolourizes the sugar. Beetroot sugar (which is increasingly more common in the US) is processed without bone char because it doesn't require much decolourization.

[mags]

I assumed that they were used in some part of the refining process. Probably as charcoal, if it is correct that charcoal can be made from the bones.

I thought veganism was mostly a food choice (although I know they tend to refer to vinyl shoes as vegan), so as long as you aren't eating the fireworks, charcoal, and emery boards, I'd think you'd be ok.

[Cervus]

True vegans don't use any animal products at all. They don't wear anything leather or suede, and don't use any products that contain an ingredient made from animals. Or, at least, that's what they attempt to do. It's pretty difficult to live a hardcore vegan lifestyle.

[ganzfeld]

Cervus, do you mean to say that vegans can actually look this stuff up, like the amazing writer of this OP? But how can they ever get any energy without imitation eggs made from cattle blood?

[llewtrah]

I drew something like that diagram for a college term paper about the meat industry. I broke "Buttercup" (who was actually a hermaphrodite if the lecturer read the flow chart fully!) into useable parts including the byproducts that went into non-food uses. I was supposed to demonstrate a variety of analysis and representation techniques ... my choice of topic was party to gross out the lecturer!

[Joostik]

Although bones are used in some types of ceramics, I don't see the use of fat of any kind there.

ETA: Well, greases are used while producing pressed ceramics, so theoretically one could use cow fat in some way...

[Pudding Crawl]

There isn't much market for tallow candles lately.

[Chloe]

Haha! Vegans are stupid!

[Nick Theodorakis]

I think it's likely that a lot of the products that use fat are using glycerol as an ingredient.

Nick

[Mycroft]

According to the chart, manure is used to produce nitrogen, so we're all breathing cow

Once in a school a girl gave a long lecture to the class on how we shouldn't kill animals for anything. I raised my hand and asked, "Aren't you wearing leather shoes?" She sat down and that was the end of her little speech.

[ganzfeld]

You were so much smarter than a girl in your class once.

[lyra_silvertongue]

Originally Posted by mags

I thought veganism was mostly a food choice (although I know they tend to refer to vinyl shoes as vegan), so as long as you aren't eating the fireworks, charcoal, and emery boards, I'd think you'd be ok.

While mostly about diet, it's a lifestyle choice. I don't eat animal products and I don't wear leather, wool, or fur. I try to use bathroom products that aren't tested on animals. However, I don't feed my cats vegan food because it's a compromise I'm willing to make for the sake of the cats in order for them to be healthy and happy in my home. No one is keeping a scorecard and I'm not going to get kicked out of the vegan club for using bone-char produced sugar once in a while (although has been pointed out, it's just as easy to get sugar that isn't produced that way, if not easier).

I do the best I can. I even eat honey sometimes! I know that I am not going to totally turn the American food production upside down simply with my choices, but I feel committed to reducing animal suffering as much as I personally can through my actions.

[Chloe]

Originally Posted by The Game

Once in a school a girl gave a long lecture to the class on how we shouldn't kill animals for anything. I raised my hand and asked, "Aren't you wearing leather shoes?"

How did you know they weren't second-hand leather shoes?

Am I missing an obvious joke? (wouldn't be the first time) Why does them being second hand make a difference?

[Sylvanz]

Originally Posted by Arrietty

Am I missing an obvious joke? (wouldn't be the first time) Why does them being second hand make a difference?

'Cause the actual slaughterer doesn't profit from the sale?

[lyra_silvertongue]

Or perhaps the person still had the leather shoes from before she made the decision to live vegan?

[Steve]

The slaughterer doesn't profit from the sale of new shoes, either. He's already sold his product by the time someone's deciding between leather or canvas sneakers. Of course, by buying the leather, the purchaser is ever so slightly increasing demand for leather products, and therefore ever so slightly increasing the slaughter of cows.

Of course, the same thing is true of a market in second-hand leather products. Increase the demand for used leather shoes, and you make it ever so slightly more desirable to own new shoes; not only do you get to wear them, but maybe you can sell them in the future. But, off the top of my head, I can't see how buying used leather shoes at a thrift store like Goodwill would increas the demand for slaughtered cows. And I'd imagine that more people get their used shoes from places like Goodwill than from the original owner directly, so it would make a difference.