Awareness Wednesdays. What's Hidden in Yogurt.

Hello all! Today's post is about yogurt.  If you are a vegan, that is already a food that you have cut out of your diet, but us veggies still eat it.  However, if you don't read closely you'll see that most yogurt might not be vegetarian.  What is in it that makes it not vegetarian? You guessed it - gelatin.

Yoplait Yogurt

Right there in the middle, Kosher gelatin!  What is Kosher gelatin you might ask.  Well if you are familiar with Jewish traditions and eating Kosher, you would know that it is not Kosher to consume and dairy products with meat.  This threw me off.  Of course gelatin is meat, and yogurt is dairy, so how can this possibly be Kosher?  For a few years right after I became a vegetarian I still ate yogurt because I figured Kosher gelatin must not have any meat in it, like a veggie alternative.  Otherwise it couldn't be Kosher. Problem solved.  When I got older I did some research and I found out what Kosher gelatin really is.

Kosher gelatin is made from animal skins and bones, not from the actual "meat" of the animal.  Therefore it is Kosher to eat it with dairy since it its not actually meat in the Kosher sense. It also has gone through so many changes that it can no longer be considered "meat" by Kosher standards (Credit). 

So there you have it.  I might be considered Kosher, but it is certainly not considered vegetarian.  As a rule, I will not eat any yogurt that I can't read the ingredients before hand, like at a restaurant, since you can never be sure if there is Kosher gelatin in it.  

Still want yogurt? Well me too! But that is not a problem.  Many organic yogurts do not have any gelatin in them.  My favorite brand is Stonyfield.  They make delicious and organic yogurts that are always vegetarian.  The come in a lot of flavors too so it is easy to find ones that you will like

Will you be cutting out regular yogurt and opting for an organic and vegetarian brand?

Bye from the Vegie side!