Animal ingredients appear in a variety of products including:
- food
- cosmetics
- alcohol
- clothing
- medicine
Some animal products, like chicken broth or beef extract, are obvious and easy to spot. But others have innocuous-sounding names that you’d never suppose are associated with animals. That’s where this list comes in.
Given that animal-derived substances are everywhere and often unlabeled, it’s essentially impossible to avoid all exposure to them. But familiarizing yourself with the items named here will help you to avoid the most common animal-derived substances.
Animal Ingredients List
The following items are categorized by whether they appear in food, cosmetics, alcohol, or clothing. A complete discussion of the economic and ethical implications of animal ingredients appears in chapter 24 of the Ultimate Vegan Guide.
Animal Ingredients in Food Products:
- Amino acids (Extensively used in Japanese processed foods. Probably 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
- Linoleic Acids
- Pepsin
- Whey
In Cosmetics:
- Allantoin
- Albumin
- Alpha-Hydroxy Acids
- Beeswax
- Biotin
- Carmine
- Collagen
- Cysteine
- Elastin
- Fish scales / Guanine
- Glycerin
- Keratin
- Lanolin
- Snails
- Squalene
- Tallow
- Wax
Animal-Derived Beer/Wine Fining Substances:
- Albumin
- Egg Whites
- Gelatin
- Isinglass (fish bladder)
See our beer and wine pages for details.
Animal Skin/Fiber/Feathers in Clothing:
- Cashmere
- Down
- Feathers (commonly sourced from chicken slaughterhouses)
- Fur
- Leather
- Sea Shells
- Silk
- Skins
- Suede
- Wool
For more information about animal ingredients and vegan lifestyles, see our guides, “Why Go Vegan?” and “How to Go Vegan.”
