Kellog's Frosted Beefs

Via Flikr

Last week, I blogged about crushed beetles in Starbucks "vegan" smoothies.

Today, my friend and fellow blogger Neil (who is a vegetarian) found something interesting in the Kellog's UK product site.

It seems you can search cereals and other products by ingredient.

Here's "Beef":

Wait, what?

From the Frosted Wheats ingredients page:

"Shredded Wholewheat, Sugar, Humectant (Sorbitol), Beef Gelatin, Niacin, Iron, Vitamin B6, Riboflavin (B2), Thiamin (B1), Folic Acid, Vitamin B12."

Gelatine ("it's made from bones, you know") is a common food additive and a real pest to vegetarians.

But wait! There's more.

He also searched "pork":

Yep. Rice Crispies Squares have pig in them:

"Toasted Rice Cereal (35%) (Rice, Sugar, Salt, Barley Malt Flavouring, Niacin, Iron, Vitamin B6, Riboflavin (B2), Thiamin (B1), Folic Acid, Vitamin B12), Marshmallow (33%) (Glucose Syrup, Sugar, Pork Gelatin, Flavouring), Fructose, Vegetable Oil, Invert Sugar Syrup, Glucose Syrup, Humectant (Glycerol), Flavouring (Contains Milk), Emulsifier (E472e, E472a), Antioxidant (E320)."

I'm not a vegetarian, and I have no problem with animal products in my foods. But many people are, and do. Including, ironically, health nut John Harvey Kellogg, who once said:

“A dead cow or sheep lying in the pasture is recognized as carrion. The same sort of carcass dressed and hung up in a butcher’s stall passes as food.”

The UK site even has a whole section recommending vegetarian diets for young children.

The Canadian and US sites aren't as easy to navigate by ingredient, and searches for beef or pork take you to meatloaf recipes.

However, I did find this on the American site:

What is the source of gelatin in your products? 

Gelatin, which is used in some of our products to provide texture, is derived from either beef or pork. Products containing pork gelatin include Kellogg cereal products with marshmallow additives (i.e., Kellogg's® Marshmallow Froot Loops cereal and Kellogg's Smorz® cereal) and all varieties of Kellogg's® Rice Krispies Treats® Squares. Products containing beef gelatin include all varieties of Kellogg's® Frosted Pop-Tarts®, Kellogg's® Frosted Mini-Wheats® cereal, Kellogg's® Rice Krispies Treats cereal, and the Kellogg's® Fruit-Flavored Snacks that contain gelatin. 

The information provided here is intended to act as a general guide only. We ask that you always check the Nutrition Facts on the side panel of each of our packages to determine if the product contains any ingredient(s) that you want to avoid.

The moral of the story? Animal products show up in the strangest places. When you buy packaged foods, always read the ingredients list. (And always be suspicious of terms like "natural" flavour or colour.) If you're a vegan, vegetarian, Hindu, Jew or Muslim, you may be surprised how often you're breaking your vows.

FEMEN invite the women of Islam to get naked with them

FEMEN are in Paris, demonstrating for Muslim women around the world to demand sexual freedom and equal rights.

   

The demonstration, themed "Allah created me naked" includes slogans such as "Muslim women let's get naked", "Nudity is freedom", "I am a woman, not an object", "Naked war" and "Naked truth". (They also hold signs in Ukrainian, French and Arabic.)

While their hearts are all in the right place, the show of solidarity also reminds me of this cartoon:

The question being whether sexual freedom depends on sexual display. I'm sure the women of FEMEN would agree that the choice of dress or undress is every person's individual choice — as long as they are not being coerced or brainwashed.

On the other hand, women from more oppressive religious Muslim societies who choose the route of nude expression, such as Golshifteh Farahani or Aliaa Magda Elmahdy (who is name-checked in body paint), face disapproval, banishment, and even physical harm.

What do you think of this message and tactic?

You can see and read more about the demonstration (in Ukranian) at FEMEN's Livejournal.

American Atheists going after Muslims and Jews now #FdAdFriday

Animal NY reports that the Hebrew one will be erected in an Jewish area of Williamsburg (known for its Hasidic community) and the Arabic one will appear in a predominantly Muslim area of Paterson, New Jersey (home of the American Arab Forum).

It's as if American Atheists are daring both communities to see which one reacts first, and how.

I just think it's stupid. And I don't even believe in any god. But affronting people's deeply-held faith with fighting words like this is no way to open minds. It will just shut you out more forcefully.