It's not just nestle...

Magpie · Post: # 57734Post **Magpie** » Thu May 17, 2007 8:36 pm

Lacto vegetarians - eat dairy products, but no eggs (as eggs could potentially develop into live chickens).

But not, of course, if there is no rooster. Wonder if there is a market for "No available rooster" eggs...

red · Post: # 57753Post **red** » Thu May 17, 2007 10:34 pm

then you get to that chicken and egg question - as each chicken prolly had a brother that was bumped off, so even if you have hens and no cockerals.. you still have to question how many boys had to die to get the flock in the first place..

ina · Post: # 57781Post **ina** » Fri May 18, 2007 8:39 am

Same question with all dairy products - a lot of male dairy calves are still "killed at birth".

red · Post: # 57794Post **red** » Fri May 18, 2007 10:09 am

or get fattened for meat, and unlike goats cows have to get into calf about once a year to keep producing milk.
goats, I gather, can have one kid then go on for some time?

ina · Post: # 57853Post **ina** » Sat May 19, 2007 8:59 am

red wrote:or get fattened for meat, and unlike goats cows have to get into calf about once a year to keep producing milk.
goats, I gather, can have one kid then go on for some time?

It always depends on how much milk you want of them. I think all commercial dairy goats are brought in kid on an annual basis, too. If you just want to have a little milk for your own cuppa, then a goat can go on for a couple of years.

The problem with male calves of dairy breeds is that they are very difficult and totally uneconomic to fatten up. The only way to get a little money for them is - export to a country where they produce "real" veal in crates. And that's another issue most people here aren't happy about...

littlebluefish · Sun May 20, 2007 7:36 am

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6673549.stm

Veggies win!

Luckily, I had convinced himself that what we really need is a chocolate tasting club box of chocolates monthly...

ina · Post: # 57934Post **ina** » Sun May 20, 2007 7:41 am

Oh goodness me. Although I'm vegetarian, I really think this is rather funny. How can anybody be upset about something that's essentially not really good for you anyway? I always thought that vegetarians were, on average, a bit more aware of what junk they eat... Obviously not.

Well, it won't persuade me to start buying Mars bars now.

hamster · Post: # 57939Post **hamster** » Sun May 20, 2007 7:58 am

littlebluefish wrote:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6673549.stm

Veggies win!

Luckily, I had convinced himself that what we really need is a chocolate tasting club box of chocolates monthly...

That sounds like a far better idea!

ina · Post: # 57941Post **ina** » Sun May 20, 2007 8:03 am

Chocolate tasting club? Don't know that one yet!

I had some rather nice Green and Black's easter eggs last night... Better than Mars bar any day!

Shirley · Post: # 57969Post **Shirley** » Sun May 20, 2007 11:31 am

I think this is a good victory and it's good to see someone listening to customers!!

hamster · Post: # 57971Post **hamster** » Sun May 20, 2007 12:24 pm

ina wrote:Chocolate tasting club? Don't know that one yet!

I had some rather nice Green and Black's easter eggs last night... Better than Mars bar any day!

I keep getting them as presents. They're scrummy. Posh chocolate, comes with tasting notes and scoring and the like, but v v nice! http://www.chocs.co.uk/

red · Post: # 58025Post **red** » Sun May 20, 2007 10:08 pm

perhaps it was all a publicity stunt....

ina · Post: # 58048Post **ina** » Mon May 21, 2007 6:32 am

Quite possible! Now everybody will rush off to buy Mars bars - because it's been established they don't contain "nasties" (bet you most consumers don't even know what rennet is) - so they are good for you, aren't they!

the.fee.fairy · Wed May 23, 2007 4:13 pm

A Reply to an email asking about the deicsion to use non-vegetaran rennet:

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for taking the time to contact us in connection with the
change of ingredients in our chocolate confectionery and ice cream
range.

Please note that after recently changing the source of some of the
whey that is used in some of our chocolate products we have received
lots of feedback that this decision has made it difficult for some of
you, especially those of you who are vegetarians, to continue to
enjoy our products. We realise that we made a mistake and we
apologise. We have committed that we at Mars UK will ensure that a
selection of favourite brands including Mars bars, Snickers bars,
Galaxy and Maltesers will be suitable for vegetarians in the near
future.

Meanwhile we are currently experiencing unusually high volumes of
contacts from our consumers and therefore we hope that you understand
that, rather than answer your question individually, we are attaching
a list of questions and answers we believe would be useful and help
answer your enquiry.

Alternatively you can visit our web site
(www.masterfoodsconsumercare.co.uk) for this, and other useful
information.

Once again thank you for taking the time to contact us. Please do get
back in touch, at the dedicated email address below, if your specific
query has not been answered and we will do our best to get a speedy
response to you.

Yours faithfully

On Behalf of Fiona Dawson
Mars UK
fionadawson@masterfoods.co.uk

Q1.What are you announcing?

A1.We have recently changed the source of some of the whey which is
used in our chocolate products made in the UK from a vegetarian
friendly variety to one which contains traces of traditional rennet
from animal sources. We have received lots of feedback from consumers
and reversed this decision.

Q2.Are you reverting to vegetarian recipes for all of those products
that were subject to the ingredient change?

A2.Yes, this announcement means that favourite products - Mars bars,
Snickers bars, Galaxy, and Maltesers will once again be suitable for
vegetarians.

Q3.You make lots of other brands - what about the suitability of
them?

A3.Other products will also be suitable for vegetarians including
Minstrels, Revels, and Ripple. However, Twix, Bounty and Celebrations
will continue not to be suitable for vegetarians.

Q4.I'm a vegetarian - which products can I eat / should I avoid?

A4.Currently we cannot guarantee that our products contain vegetarian
rennet. However, we are starting to change our manufacturing process
with immediate effect. We want to get our vegetarian products on the
shelves as soon as possible. During this process of changing the
recipes we will provide updates on this consumer care website, on a
regular basis. If you are not sure about the suitability of our
products please call us on 0845 0450042.

Q5.Why did you decide to change the ingredients in the first place?

A5.We made the change to broaden our supply base in order to ensure
we could continue to provide our consumers with products of
consistent quality in the future.

Q6.Will you now consult with consumers on any future changes to
products?

A6.Yes. This change was a mistake and we are sorry that we may have
prevented consumers from enjoying the products they've always enjoyed.

catalyst · Post: # 58855Post **catalyst** » Sun May 27, 2007 5:59 pm

unfortunately (some or all?) vegetarian rennet is genetically manufactured.
i was a vegan for 20 years, then one day i realised i was eating a lot of soya that was possibly GM too... so the veganism went out of the window. now i just do my best to eat 'the best' ie ideally home grown by us, then stuff that hasnt come too far, preferably organic and fair trade or free-range... and then there is stuff like chocolate, sugar and coffee, that we should NEVER eat, but occassionally do.

its a complicated old world....