Marmite??

[ty brant]

Hi all just a question is Marmite vegan?? Big fan of the brown stuff but being new to vegan food I'm just wondering if it is in fact vegan??

thanks in advance.

 

[Daya]

It is vegan in a sense that it doesn't contain any animal products. But apparently it is owned by a company that does animal testing.
(Also I just read some vegans don't eat yeast, is that a thing?)

 

[winter.frost]

Well, it's the yeast extract in Marmite that makes it a good source of B12 - something that all vegans need.

Marmite, the original brand, is now owned by Unilever so if you want to avoid that super-company best to avoid Marmite as well. However there are many other brands you can buy from. Meridian, for instance, makes it's own yeast extract.

I think most vegans are fine with consuming micro-organisms and yeast etc. because most vegans are concerned with sentience and suffering. The yeast is capable of distinguishing temperature and other optimal conditions it needs - like a plant - but as far as sentience goes... not really.

 

[ty brant]

OK guys thanks for the advice. I am not a fan of animal testing so once I have used up my jar I'll look at alternatives, Meridian being a good shout!

Also another question I'll post here I have switched from butter to Vitalite spread. I asked the gf to get it at its a Vegan spread I believe but just looked at the ingriedients I see the product contains Palm Oil but doesn't state it's from sustainable sources??

I am new to all things vegan so at the minute I'm just trying to find the right alternatives to my favourite brands and products.

 

[winter.frost]

I really recommend Pure sunflower spread. It tastes more like butter than Vitalite too. Also the sunflowers are UK-grown and processed, so the carbon footprint will be lower. If you can't get it in your local supermarket, most Holland & Barrett shops will store it in their fridge-freezer section at the back (along with many other vegan products). However, despite this, they also use a bit of palm oil and - similarly - I can't find information about whether it's sustainably sourced. Biona used to make palm oil-free spreads, but no longer. Again, I don't know about the credentials.

But if you have a subscription to the Ethical Consumer magazine, you can easily find out:
http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/buyersguides/food/margarineandspreads.aspx

I have noticed that Suma's Olive spread is palm-oil free, and that all their products that do use palm oil are heavily accredited. I can only assume that the companies above are doing likewise, particularly Pure because I think it is the same company as America's Earth Balance and I'm pretty sure they've made sustainability efforts.

 

[Alma Beatrice]

Absolutely, It is.. thank the lord! My single favourite food

 

[fzjohnson]

... or you could make your own for far fewer pennies ...
http://plantepusherne.dk/vegan-aquafaba-butter/

 

[winter.frost]

you could make your own for far less pennies

Argh! You are testing my 'less' when it should be 'fewer' naziism

 

[fzjohnson]

Argh! You are testing my 'less' when it should be 'fewer' naziism

got it ... rest easily ... all is right with the world now. ;-)

Mine is when people forget the "ly" ... eg. "Think Different" as opposed to "Think Differently" unless Apple want everyone to wander around with the word "different" in their heads.

 

[Damo]

Yuck, Marmite

Apparently I used to love the stuff as a kid... I had a taste recently, hated it. Acquired taste for sure.

 

[fzjohnson]

Not to put an antipodean bias on this thread, but let's face it ... vegemite is supremely better.

 

[winter.frost]

vegemite is supremely better.

Nooo!

 

[fzjohnson]

Are you suggesting Vegemite is fewer good than Marmite?
;-)
(Could resist ... sorry)

 

[UK Chap in Q8]

Marmite all the way

 

[AverageZoe]

Sainsbury's own brand yeast extract is vegan and is labelled so. I find it tastes closer to Marmite than the Meridian one plus it's easy to find. Second vote for Pure sunflower spread but I would like to try making my own. Going to check out the aquafaba butter, thanks

 

[aha]

OK guys thanks for the advice. I am not a fan of animal testing so once I have used up my jar I'll look at alternatives, Meridian being a good shout!

Also another question I'll post here I have switched from butter to Vitalite spread. I asked the gf to get it at its a Vegan spread I believe but just looked at the ingriedients I see the product contains Palm Oil but doesn't state it's from sustainable sources??

I am new to all things vegan so at the minute I'm just trying to find the right alternatives to my favourite brands and products.

Hiya, I'm slightly frustrated with palm oil too, mostly when a product is marked as vegan, but still contains palm oil, like Trek bars etc. Sustainable? I dont think so, it's like when they say free range or organic.... So I decided to contact the companies directly via email and asked them, whether they could replace palm oil and make packaging recyclable, as this is my concern too as veganism is not just diet and it's stopping me from buying even "vegan products". And got some nice replies.
So I feel either we find completely new products as replacement or/and we can ask them to make the product we like vegan. And the more requests the companies get from us, the bigger chance for improvement...just a different idea...
good luck

 

[alleycat]

Love Vegemite. I stopped using butter alternatives years ago, but recently at our local markets found a lovely family of macadamia farmers and they make a lovely range of macadamia nut spreads. The one I buy is just pureed nuts with a little macadamia oil added if it's dry. nothing else added. It's very rich and creamy after not using anything like it for so long. Really nice to be able to speak directly to the people who make it as well.