When Vegetarians eat at a restaurant or a café can they be sure that the food they have ordered is Vegetarian? These are questions a true vegetarian should ask themselves.

Is the milk used in the recipe’s from intensive dairy farming (this milk often contains pus! milk containing up to 400 million pus cells per litre is legalally sold for human consumption. Why so much? Because modern intensive dairy farming ensures that 30% of British cows have mastitis-a painful infection of the udders. The pus is a product of the cow‘s almost constant fight against bacterial invasion.

Is the cheese used vegetarian http://www.vegsoc.org/info/cheese.html or does it contain animal rennet? Rennet is usually sourced from the abomasum (fourth stomach) of newly-born calves. Here, chymosin aids the digestion and absorption of milk. Adult cows do not have this enzyme. Chymosin is extracted by washing and drying the stomach lining, which is then cut into small pieces and macerated in a solution of boric acid or brine at 30°C for 4-5 days. Pepsin may sometimes be used instead of chymosin. This is usually derived from the abomasum of grown calves or heifers, or less commonly pigs. Pepsin may be mixed with calf rennin. Rennet coagulates the milk, separating it into curds and whey.

What about Goat’s cheese? http://www.vegsoc.org/info/goats.html About 75% of British goat milk produced goes for cheese making, much of which is sold through supermarkets and specialist food outlets . The practice of zero grazing is becoming more common as it is more convenient for the farmer. Animals are kept permanently confined, with no access to the outside, throughout their lives.

Does the bread,biscuits etc contain whey if so do we know if its the whey from vegetarian cheese or not? …Chymosin breaks down the milk protein casein to paracasein which combines with calcium to form calcium paracaseinate, which separates out. Milk fat and some water also becomes incorporated into this mass, forming curds. The remaining liquid is the whey.

Chips may have been fried in animal fat or using the same oil as the fish is fried in. Edible fats can mean animal fats, some margarine’s may contain whey, fish oils,vitamin D3, E numbers, whey, gelatine.

Soup watch out for the stock, it may be vegetable or tomato soup but could easily contain chicken stock or Bovril.

Pasta may contain egg. Is this free range?

Eggs Some vegetarians may wish to avoid battery eggs and/or barn eggs. The Vegetarian Society does not award its seedling symbol to any products containing eggs other than free range.

Bread Most large producers use vegetable based emulsifiers (E471, E472 etc), but local bakers may not. Some bakers may grease the tins with animal fat.

Worcester Sauce Most brands contain anchovies.

Does your desert contain Gelatine? http://www.vegsoc.org/info/gelling.html this is an unacceptable product to vegetarians as it is a by-product of the slaughterhouse industry, being made of protein derived from animal bones, cartilage, tendons and other tissues such as pig skin. Aspic is also unsuitable, as it is made from clarified meat, fish or vegetable stocks and gelatine Jelly Usually contains gelatine though Alternatives are available.

Ice Cream Look out for non dairy fats, E numbers, eggs.Is the colour used E120 Cochineal made from crushed insects.? Chocolate Watch out for whey and emulsifiers.

More information http://www.vegsoc.org/info/stumbling.html

With all this information how does one eat out successfully without having to ask so many questions? The simple answer is to eat VEGAN….”Vegan food is not just for Vegans.Good vegan food is food for all. The word ‘good’ is crucial..’if it is not good enough for meat-eaters to enjoy,then it will not be good enough for vegetarians and vegans.as Joanna Lumley said “We may not all want to be vegans-though the time to mock their plant-based diet is long gone”

Do your local eateries struggle to provide delicious vegan meals? Or do they simply want advice? Give them a free copy of the Vegan Society's guide for baffled chefs! Contact the Vegan Society for free copies of their "Vegan Catering for All" booklet to give to caterers.

Vegans enjoy all kinds of plant foods - like fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, legumes (beans, lentils and split peas) - and fungi (mushrooms, yeasts), and food made from these. Vegans choose not to eat any foods derived from living or dead animals - no meat of any kind (no red meat, poultry, white meat, fish etc.), no animal milks (no cow's dairy products, nor sheep, goats etc.), no eggs, no honey, nor any other animal products (no gelatin, cochineal, shellac etc.)

Finding vegan food is easier than it's ever been. You can now buy vegan cheese, vegan chocolate, vegan ice-cream, vegan mayonnaise, vegan sausages, vegan yoghurt, vegan haggis...the choices are endless. Animal-free food is also becoming easier to spot, as more and more companies adopt The Vegan Society's trademark sunflower logo .