New vegan - what to do with non-vegan food?

[Pob]

I'm newly on the path to veganism - can't say I'm there yet as I have plenty of non vegan stuff to use up/get rid of. I wasn't long a vegetarian, either before deciding to go the whole way, so I have meat products as well

I have quite a few cans of fish and soup that are not vegan, that I would like to do something with rather than throwing in the bin. Does anyone know which, if any charities in the UK would need/want/accept canned goods?

Harvest festival (in the Autumn) would be an opportunity to give them to school, but I could use the cupboard space sooner than that.

[eve]

Why not simply throw them into the garbage bin since you won't be eating them, and I'm sure you don't want others to eat them either.

[Kumem]

I think most charities accept things like that in the UK.
You could try calling a few near to you. If they don't accept them, I'm sure they'd know who would.

Good for you for deciding to go vegan.

[Pob]

Of course I would prefer people to not eat animal products, but if they're going to anyway, then I'd sooner they eat this stuff, than buy something else.

Just makes me feel sad and guilty to throw it in the bin

Oops - crossposted with you Kumem - I'll give that a try.

[Kumem]

Of course I would prefer people to not eat animal products, but if they're going to anyway, then I'd sooner they eat this stuff, than buy something else.

Just makes me feel sad and guilty to throw it in the bin

Oops - crossposted with you Kumem - I'll give that a try.

Couldn't agree more. They will only go out and buy more animal products, which doesn't help anyone.

[harpy]

I agree with not wasting them. I seem to remember reading that Pret a Manger give their left-over sandwiches to homeless charities, so if you have a local branch you could see if your tins could go with those. Other shops do the same I think (M&S?)

[Kiran]

I have quite a few cans of fish and soup that are not vegan, that I would like to do something with rather than throwing in the bin. Does anyone know which, if any charities in the UK would need/want/accept canned goods?

No Rob.. Don't give them to charities!! Don't promote that. Meat has come through evil means and should not be given to charities. I know they will be glad if you give them but it is not good on our part to feed someone with meat. So I suggest, you throw them in the bin.

Meat is a dead animal. It had to be buried long time ago. Dead animals must be buried, not eaten. But throwing it would make more sense than feeding it to someone else. This is my opinion.

[Kumem]

The product has already been made though, the animals have already suffered. If it goes to a charity or wherever, then people might buy less, thereby decreasing the amount of stuff consumed.

[pixeequeen]

I completely agree, I absolutely hate it when food gets thrown away, and that includes meat. Have you a friend or relative that would eat it rather than buying more? If its a not-so-rich /elderly relative then all the better. Easy to do then and will save them money, and stop them buying more produce

[pixeequeen]

Ps. Welcome to the fourruhm!!!!!

[Kiran]

I completely agree, I absolutely hate it when food gets thrown away, and that includes meat. Have you a friend or relative that would eat it rather than buying more? If its a not-so-rich /elderly relative then all the better. Easy to do then and will save them money, and stop them buying more produce

Food is what we vegans eat and the rest is crap. The human stomach is not a cremation ground to burn dead bodies. Yes you are partially right!! The animal has been killed and damage has been done. But we should not commit the act of feeding someone meat. That would become another additional damage of promoting meat eaters.

Let the damage stop at the point when the poor animal was killed. Let there be not another damage by offering the meat to charities.

The argument that the damage has been done is frequently given by meat eaters. Meat eaters tell vegans " sorry mate, the damage has already been done. Someone already killed the animal. It is not going to make any difference by eating it". The idea to promote veganism is not promoting meat eating. It is better for meat to go waste than feed someone.

[ConsciousCuisine]

I completely agree, I absolutely hate it when food gets thrown away, and that includes meat.

"Meat" (dead animal flesh) is *not* "food".

[pixeequeen]

I see what your saying Kiran, and think its a good way of thinking, but practically, I am more led by the fact that the meat industry is conumser number led like all industries. That is also my argument when meateaters tell me the "damage has already been done" - If less people eat it, there is less demand do fewer animals get killed. If Rob(qg) gave the meat to someone who was going to eat it anyway, then they would buy less+ equals less demand and potentially an animals life. It may be a bit idealistic, but worth a try nonetheless I think. I have been a vegan for just over a year now, and I still have half-emoty bottles of cosmetics etc that I use. No-one will take them and use them cos they're so used from pre-vegan days, so I continue to use them. I see no achievement by not using them.
I also think that it can be a way to promote ones own veganism, and raise awareness by actively refuting meat yourself at the same time as giving it to someone - after all, surely they'd want to know why they were being given free food. However, your post Kiran, has also made me question whether giving to charity would be right- a 'commercial' (as in public) offering may send out undesirable messages

[pixeequeen]

I've been caught out here for calling meat 'food', I'm sorry, I meant nothing by it- it was just a turn of phrase. I don't personally have a problem with saying it is/isn't food, as it may not be to me/us, but in social terms that just its general term and I didnt think it through. Sorry if it offended anyone.

[Pob]

There are lots of good points raised here - I hadn't really thought of all of them. Some things I have just thrown away - chilled veggie items with milk in - as there was no realistic alternative.

My wife is still an omni, but these are items that she doesn't eat. Part of the problem is that if I just throw things out she will perceive it to be wasting food. There are already some tensions building over me going down this road.

It hasn't been as sudden as it might sound - or look to her. I spent several months wrestling with my conscience and eating less and less meat (which contributed to the amount of cans in the cupboard). Then one day I found the strength to say no more (though I thought that dropping milk and eggs would be too hard). From there I was quick to learn that it wouldn't be so hard after all.

I would love for my wife to do the same, but now she has to buy and cook most of her own food she's eating more meat (and less healthily) than when I did that for both of us

Somewhere along the line I think (I used to suffer from it) we are being unconsciously brainwashed by the media to think that soya is nasty and dirty and not fit for human consumption (unlike milk and meat).

That's taken it right off topic, but some background info may make a difference to the advice given.

[SurfNSun]

When i went vegan i decided to throw out all of my animal product foods instead of eating them or giving them to others to eat. I do not like to waste food but the more i learned about health and the toxic substances in our foods i realized that i was only going to harm the person i gave my non-vegan foods to. Many foods in both vegan and non-vegan homes contain many toxic chemicals and substances such as, MSG ( also written as autolyzed vegetable protein or yeast extract in ingredients list) as well as partially hydrogenated oils, sodium nitrite (known to cause cancer), etc... Plus, i thought if i am vegan not only for animal cruelty reasons but also for health reasons why would i give other people these toxic foods. Many people blow off such ingredients as "no big deal", but they are a real big deal... thousands if not millions of people die each year due to complications that these ingredients cause in the human body, although they stay on the super-market shelves.

Here's a really good link about mass poisoning of the public:

http://www.newstarget.com/008511-04.html

its a little lengthy article but amazing information none the less!!!

Hopes this helps...

[Pob]

Errr - I wouldn't put much stock in the accuracy of that link.

When it's put that way, you might start thinking, "Well, gee, maybe there's something wrong with this sugar, maybe I shouldn't be putting chlorine atoms into my body." Would you go out and drink chlorine? If you know anybody who works on pools, or who has a pool maintenance business, they will tell you that chlorine gas will kill you. In fact, just to handle chlorine, they have to wear protective rubber gloves and protective respiration devices, because if they get chlorine powder wet and touch it or inhale it, they are in for a world of hurt. Chlorine gas can cause serious injury or even death. In fact, if you just take household ingredients like chlorine bleach and mix it with ammonia, you will create a highly toxic gas that will literally kill you, which is why these products often contain warnings that they should not be mixed.

Chlorine is in all sorts of things - combining it with things is not the same as chlorinating water or gassing people. Some chlorine compounds - usually salts, Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Chloride - is essential (used in stomach acid for instance).

[SurfNSun]

Chlorine is in all sorts of things - combining it with things is not the same as chlorinating water or gassing people. Some chlorine compounds - usually salts, Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Chloride - is essential (used in stomach acid for instance).

So does that mean you don't have a problem with putting chlorine in your body? Just because a substance in all sorts of things doesn't make it safe nor healthy. I don't think i could put something in my body that i knew wasn't natural and was modified in a laboratory...including traditional table salt...

"My advice goes much further than that though, and that is: never eat foods containing simple sodium or sodium chloride (processed salt). Sodium chloride is not real salt. If you're going to use salt at the dinner table or in cooking, go out and get yourself some ocean salt, or what is sometimes called "Celtic salt" or "Sea salt." That is, you want actual salt from the ocean, which is quite complex in its molecular structure. It has a great number of elements -- far more than just sodium and chloride -- and has a far different effect on your body than sodium chloride. In fact, sodium chloride could quite accurately be called a poison in sufficient doses. Each separate element is quite clearly a poison: sodium and chloride. But when combined, they create table salt that many in the nutritional wellness community also consider to be a toxin to the body." The Health Ranger (Mike Adams)

[Seaside]

No Rob.. Don't give them to charities!! Don't promote that. Meat has come through evil means and should not be given to charities. I know they will be glad if you give them but it is not good on our part to feed someone with meat. So I suggest, you throw them in the bin.

Meat is a dead animal. It had to be buried long time ago. Dead animals must be buried, not eaten. But throwing it would make more sense than feeding it to someone else. This is my opinion.

I agree. If someone went around collecting all the bits that get blown off people in these horrible disasters, and put them into a can and called it soup, would you not be outraged? Animals are not food, therefore no food is being wasted if it is thrown away. The same goes for other products made from animals like shoes and coats. Although I believe the remains should be treated with respect, just as the families of victims of disasters want the unidentifiable parts treated with respect too.

[Pob]

SurfNSun - I think we'll have to agree to disagree. I don't use artificial sweetners and I'm not a fan of molecules constructed in a lab ending up in food. However the information on that site is sensationalised and in my opinion does more harm than good in publicising the negative side of artificial foodstuffs.

Seaside - The problem has been taken out of my hands. I sorted through all the stuff I would no longer eat and my wife has given it to relatives.

I understand all the points of view on the subject. The best option for me would have been to send it where it would do most good. None of it was unhealthy stuff (as far as omni food can be), and I for one would rather someone had a good use for my body when I died than just burned me or buried me. This option will at least mean a bit less animal product is sold.

Maybe it will do some good, too - maybe they'll think about why I won't eat this anymore - they might not understand, but they might at least think about it.

[eve]

SurfNsun, thanks for the link.
Rob(QG), what did you do about the left over food in your cupboard after going vegan? As you said

Of course I would prefer people to not eat animal products, but if they're going to anyway, then I'd sooner they eat this stuff, than buy something else. Just makes me feel sad and guilty to throw it in the bin.

Hopefully you've got something from the responses, including my post #2. But why feel guilty about throwing useless "food" into the bin? It won't do anyone any good. People who say that the animal is already dead anyway, often say that to vegans! It's just their excuse for eating the stuff.
You also say:

I understand all the points of view on the subject. The best option for me would have been to send it where it would do most good. None of it was unhealthy stuff (as far as omni food can be), ...'

Where the stuff would do the most good? You've got to be joking!
I'm really glad that you've decided on becoming vegan.

[Cherry]

Congratulations on becoming vegan.

I bet you're glad that it's sorted out! To me (sorry to people who disagree) it's the best option. You're not really promoting eating non-vegan food either as presumably the relatives know they've been given it because you have become vegan.

When I became vegan I threw a few things out but gave most things to my flat mates.

[PumpkinGuy]

Whether or not these canned products are "food" is open for debate. Even if you were to donate these items to charity, no one is forcing them to eat them. We don't force others to eat food. People choose for themselves what they are putting into their mouths.

Personally I wouldn't throw them away as they are in cans. I recycle my cans. Why not then put them in the recycle bin. If someone chooses to take them out, open them up and consume the contents, that is up to them.