Complete avoidance of animal products can sometimes feel well-nigh impossible for even the most conscientious consumer. For those on the vegan-vegetarian-discerning omnivore spectrum, there may still be products in your everyday life you’re unaware contain or whose production involved animal ingredients.

Since anyone can benefit from being more informed about what they’re consuming, in Veganissimo A to Z, Reuben Proctor and Lars Thomsen offer a comprehensive reference guide to identifying and avoiding ingredients of animal origin, including some things not commonly thought of as not vegan. Here are five of those harder-to-pin-down products:

String Instruments

Catgut, gut strings from sheep, has been used in surgical sutures and as strings for musical instruments and tennis rackets. There are now synthetic alternatives widely available.

String instruments like the violin and cello still use horsehair in their bows, but there is such a thing as a vegan violin bow. Continue reading →

It’s that loving time of year again, but more often than not Valentine’s Day conjures feelings that are anything but. Along with the added pressure that the day can’t be just another Thursday, Time.com reported today that Valentine’s Day comes at a time when we are already emotionally and financially stressed (hello Christmas spending). According to the latest Zagat survey, 53% of couples are planning on having Valentine’s dinner at a restaurant, and they also expect the average bill to be $142.11. You would think that at least the restaurants would be happy for the extra business, especially with January being a slow month for restaurants, but it turns out the extra Valentine’s Day diners cause extra stress and turn the kitchen into a real pressure cooker. So what’s a romantic to do? Continue reading →

As Sunday’s Super Bowl approaches, so does the Super Bowl party, that ubiquitous annual gathering welcoming everyone on the football enthusiasm spectrum from the oblivious and disinterested (it’s ok, Beyonce is performing!) to diehard fans of the two teams in play, this year the Ravens and 49ers (we were rooting for the Texans and mostly vegan running back Arian Foster, but here’s hoping for next year). Continue reading →

In 2007, Peru exported 1,347 tons of quinoa. By the end of 2011, the country had exported 6,956 tons of the grain, its destination most likely the United States. Quinoa’s meteoric rise in popularity can no doubt be attributed to its high nutritional value and lack of gluten. It’s no wonder, then, that the United Nations officially declared 2013 the International Year of Quinoa. Continue reading →

Hello! I’m Annie, and I’ve just spent a week interning at The Experiment. I’ve had a wonderful time working here. Some of my projects included doing research, proofreading, and editing the coding for eBooks. I was also responsible for the package labels used to mail out the spring 2013 catalog. So if you’re receiving one, that label was all me! Continue reading →

Well, that’s all folks. After months of debate, speculation, tension, and hair-pulling, the election has been decided. Today life can finally go back to normal, even if many of us are still living with a post-election hangover. This election marked … Continue reading →

After Sandy closed down New York for nearly a week, we are happy to report everyone is safely back in the office! From everyone at The Experiment, we much hope that you were not badly affected by the storm. As … Continue reading →

In celebration of Vegetarian Awareness Month, Lukas Volger, author of Veggie Burgers Every Which Way and Vegetarian Entrees That Won’t Leave You Hungry, was invited to HBO’s Times Square headquarters on Tuesday to sign books as five of his delicious … Continue reading →

Pumpkin the new bacon?! That’s what Felix Salmon claimed yesterday at New York magazine. As a publisher of (mostly) vegan cookbooks, we couldn’t agree more. If you want to join the pumpkin revolution, why not try Del Sroufe’s Pumpkin and … Continue reading →

November 17th will mark an exciting and historic occasion for running enthusiasts across the country, as the JFK 50 Mile—the nation’s oldest and most iconic ultramarathon—will celebrate its 50th anniversary. First held in the spring of 1963, the race was … Continue reading →