How do you trace where something has come from? This is a particularly interesting question when it comes to food, and especially interesting when you are interested in how and where it was cultivated, grown, blended, and processed on its way to the supermarket shelf. Most people begin by assuming that food is labelled. With a little investigation you discover that the labelling requirements are rather lax, and they are definitely not designed to assist vegans trace how vegan their food really is.
This identifies several issues in the food chain. Firstly, many products seem to pass regulatory scrutiny simply by bearing a label stating ‘made from 90% Australian Product’, or ‘made from local and imported ingredients’. The labelling of ingredient sources may not be as absolute as you would like. Secondly, the only time you can be absolutely certain of the origin of food is when you grow it yourself.
Many people that have become vegan out of their concerns for the environment tend to move towards growing as much of their own food as they can and buying as much of what they can from small local growers they have established relationships with. One factor that definitely helps with the traceability of food is avoiding processed and imported foods where you can. This applies to many factors associated with the traceability of processing standards beyond vegan factors.
Regardless of how pedantic you are in tracing your food sources; you are likely to come across foods you have been eating which you discover are not as vegan as you assumed. The key factor is to not see this as a failure or feel overwhelmed by the extent to which animal products have penetrated the food chain. Just learn from the experience, make new decisions about what you intend to do in the future, and move on. Remember the words from the Vegan Society definition of veganism ‘… way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose …’ Set your standards that you choose to live by and live by them. Do not try and convince anyone else that you have the one and only perfect answer to any situation, and do not worry about others that believe they have. Veganism is a personal journey.