Is a Mushroom still Vegan-Grown on Meat/Dead Animal ?

vishvadave

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Would eating a mushroom that grew on meat or a dead animal still be considered vegan?

I feel like the essential nutrients that help a mushroom grow would be from a dead animal, but again, isn't that just how things work? I am kind of confused with this, what do you guys think?
 
I suppose if there was a mushroom farm* that killed animals and buried them for mushrooms to grow from, that would not be vegan. But as long as the animals are not getting killed on purpose then there is nothing non vegan about it. Although some might find mushrooms grown in an animal cemetery to either be off-putting or just plain creepy.

But it's not a real issue. Commercially grown mushrooms are grown on something akin to compost that contains no animal products. Usually, the agar is made from algae and the medium is grain.

Wild mushrooms usually feed on rotting vegetation. Leaf litter or rotting wood.

* I don't think "farm" is the right word. Growing facility?
 
Would eating a mushroom that grew on meat or a dead animal still be considered vegan?

I feel like the essential nutrients that help a mushroom grow would be from a dead animal, but again, isn't that just how things work? I am kind of confused with this, what do you guys think?

Mushrooms are the fruiting head of a network of mycelium that typically grows in soil, not un-decomposed or even partially decomposed dead animals. Some types are grown in substrates of things like coffee grounds.

If a colony of mycelium was able to be grown in a dead body, or even a partially decomposed one, I wouldn't eat it. Care is needed when growing mushrooms as they tend to take up beneficial and well as harmful compounds of the medium they are grown in.
 
My mother-in-law from South Africa lived in poverty for most of her life. These modern conveniences like toilets that flush and electricity were luxuries to her. She could not afford to regularly consume meat and dairy. My wife grew up under mostly in these same circumstances. For all practical purposes, she was so poor that she might as well have been a vegan.

A South African friend while on a beach at lake Michigan saw a huge dead fish. She was horrified by the waste. She said that it would never happen in South Africa. The idea of eating a dead fish fresh from the lake was completely foreign to me. I was grossed out. I figured that a fish should slowly decompose in a grocery store for a few days before eating him.

I have nothing against eating roadkill as long as someone else did the dirty work of preparing the carcass. I would also like to know that the roadkill was fresh.
 
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I totally understand your confusion. When it comes to mushrooms, it's a bit of a gray area for some vegans. Personally, I lean towards considering them vegan because the mushroom itself isn't an animal product, and it's more about how nature works. I regularly use mushroom blend powder in my recipes. But it's cool that you're thinking about these things – shows you care about your choices!
 
Many biologists consider fungi (including mushrooms) to be in a biological group (or "kingdom") separate from: bacteria and blue-green algae; protists (organisms such as amoebas, paramecium, green algae, brown algae, and others); multicellular green plants, from mosses and liverworts to trees, orchids, etc; and multicellular animals. Vegans, as a rule, only exclude the exploitation of the last group: multicellular animals.

ETA: Oops- I just "googled". "Archaebacteria" are a sixth group recognized by at least some biologists. It seems they're different enough from the "Monera" (bacteria and blue-greens I mentioned) to be considered a different group.

ETAA: Evidently the expression "Archaebacteria" is out-of-date; they're now called "Archaea". (I am so geeking out and loving it... I will restrain my enthusiasm for the rest of the day, I promise!)

 
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Many biologists ...
Not sure you have to say "many". Just say Biologists. It's not controversial, hasn't been in the last 60 years.
But I can understand your geeky enthusiasm.
When you were born they just had two kingdoms. Plants and animals. :p
But fungi was its own kingdom by the time you graduated High School.
Since then they have been adding kingdoms like Santos adds stuff to his resume.

The other source of confusion that some people have comes from Walt Disney.

 
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Mushrooms may or may not be considered vegan due to fertilisers (containing manure or chicken products) used when growing them. As this information isn't available on packaging, it's up to the consumer to decide whether they're willing to consume them.