Tuesday, 5 March 2024

Food labelling

Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (13:32): A few weeks ago my friend was eating a protein bar and asked me if it was vegan. I checked the ingredients and noted that while it did not have milk it did have carmine. They asked me what it was, and I said, ‘It’s boiled crushed-up beetles to produce the colour red, babe.’ It made me reflect on the fact that secrecy and a lack of transparency are not confined to slaughterhouses themselves. No, the intentional deceit is in the labelling of ingredients derived from animals to the concealment of animal cruelty.

Gelatine is an ingredient seen in lollies, cosmetics, marshmallows and more that actually refers to a protein taken from boiling crushed bones, cartilage and skins from cows and pigs. Even beer and wine often are not free from animal products. Isinglass, a gelatine-like substance collected from the bladders of fish, is used in the clarification process of many beers and wines – you are essentially drinking fish glue.

In disguising the names of these gross ingredients posing as vegetarian, people are left in the dark about what they are actually consuming, and the industry itself is able to mislead you from the slaughterhouse to the supermarket shelf. But the good news is we do not need these ingredients to enjoy our favourite snacks. There are many alternatives to these products, such as vegan lollies, marshmallows and an array of vegan wines and beers, and I hope my colleagues in this place can consider our animal friends next time they decide to have a little treat.