What is castoreum?
Castoreum is one of the stranger animal products that humans use. While it’s not used much, there are cosmetics and food products in the EU that contain a small amount of castoreum. That’s why in this blog we will discuss what it is and what it’s being used for. What is castoreum? Castoreum is a […]
What is carmine?
Carmine (E120), also called cochineal or natural red, is a red colouring additive. This colouring was used by the Incas and Aztecs and was probably brought to Europe in the 16th century. Nowadays, 80% of carmine production (200 tons a year) takes place in Peru, but other South American countries and even countries like Poland […]
The suffering in the cocoa industry
Products containing cocoa such as chocolate are regularly consumed by many people nowadays and some people even eat them daily. While cocoa used to be a luxury product, today that’s no longer the case and production has increased dramatically. Since the ’60s the demand for cocoa has trippled and in the last twenty years it […]
Why is silk not vegan?
When people think of non-vegan clothing, they mostly think of leather, fur and wool. However, the production of silk also causes a lot of animal suffering and thousands of insects die in the process of making one piece of silk clothing. This is because silk is a substance made by certain insects, such as specific […]
Why we are better off without animal manure
Manure causes different kinds of pollution and other environmental problems. In this blog we discuss these problems and possible alternatives for animal manure as a fertilizer. Pollution Greenhouse gases According to research by the FAO, animal manure is responsible for 37 percent of the anthropogenic methane emissions. In addition, 65 percent of nitrous oxide emissions and […]
Why palm oil is bad, but boycotting it even worse
In recent years, the negative effects of palm oil cultivation have regularly been in the news. As palm oil cultivation often includes deforestation and human rights violations, an increasing number of people chooses to buy sustainable palm oil or to boycott palm oil. While this may seem quite logical, this does not contribute to solving […]