Ask a company
Barnivore relies on input from readers like you to check (and double check!) with your favourite drink makers to see what's in their products.
Checking with a company is simple. All you need to do is send them an email with one of our standard questions (see below) and forward us the response so we can add it to the list and help the rest of the world enjoy vegan drinks!
If you get a response that isn't awesome, please (politely!) let them know how you feel! We've got a sample response you can use (English only for now, hint hint...) here.
The Question
Here's the Standard Question we prefer everyone uses:
English:
Hi, I'm helping to update an online directory of vegan-friendly alcohol, and I was hoping you could provide some information about [BRAND NAME].
Does [BRAND NAME] contain any animal ingredients (such as milk, eggs, honey, etc) or are animal products used in the processing/filtration of the product (such as isinglass, gelatin, etc)?
Thanks,
[YOUR NAME]
French:
Bonjour,
J'aide présentement à la mise à jour d'un répertoire en ligne de boissons alcoolisées végétaliennes et je me demande si vous pouviez me donner de l'information au sujet de vos produits ([PRODUCT 1, PRODUCT 2, PRODUCT 3.])
Est-ce que vos produits contiennent quelque ingrédient d'origine animale (comme du lait, des oeufs, du miel, etc.) ou est-ce qu'un quelconque produit d'origine animale est utilisé dans la fabrication/filtration des produits (par exemple : du ichtyocolle, de la gélatine, etc.)?
Je vous remercie.
[YOUR NAME]
(Thanks to Monique for the French translation!)
Spanish:
Hola, estoy ayudando a actualizar una base de datos en Internet sobre bebidas alcoholicas que vegetarianos y veganos pueden tomar, y me preguntaba si usted me podria dar informacion sobre su [BRAND NAME]
Su producto, [BRAND NAME], contiene ingredientes animales como leche, huevos, cualquier carne animal, o talvez miel? En el proceso de filtracion, han usado otros productos provenientes de animales como gelatina, huesos carbonizados (bone char), o ictiocola (que viene de el pescado)? Cuales son los ingredientes de su [BRAND NAME]?
Muchas gracias por su tiempo y le agradezco de antemano su respuesta.
Sinceramente,
[YOUR NAME]
(Thanks to Georgina for the Spanish translation!)
German:
We've got two versions of the German question. This one's from Linda:
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
ich helfe dabei, ein Verzeichnis fuer vegane Getraenke zu erstellen und zu aktualisieren. Hierfuer bitte ich Sie, mir einige Informationen ueber [BRAND OR PRODUCT NAME] zu geben.
Beinhaltet Ihr Getraenk tierische Zutaten (z.B. Milch, Ei, Honig)?
Werden während des Herstellungsprozesses tierische Produkte als Hilfsstoffe benutzt (z.B. Gelatine vom Schwein/Rind bzw. Hausenblase vom Fisch zur Filtration oder Aktivkohle auf tierischer Basis zur Schoenfaerbung von Zucker)?
Werden zur Etikettierung tierische Hilfsstoffe verwendet (z.B. kaseinhaltiger Leim)?
Vielen Dank für Ihre Unterstützung im Voraus.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
[YOUR NAME]
Die Webseite mit den aufgelisteten Getraenken finden Sie unter www.barnivore.com
...And this one's from Ingrid and Martina:
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
ich helfe dabei ein Verzeichnis fuer veganische Lebensmittel zu erstellen. Hierfuer bitte ich Sie mir einige Informationen ueber Ihr Produkt zu geben.
Beinhaltet Ihr Bier/Wein/Alkohol tierische Zutaten (wie Milch, Eier, Honig usw.) oder werden bei der Herstellung tierische Produkte z.B. zur Filtration benutzt (Gelantine, Fischleim, Blut, oder andere tierische Produkte)?
Vielen Dank im Voraus.
Mit freundlichen Gruessen
[YOUR NAME]
Portuguese:
Olá. Estou ajudando a atualizar uma base de dados na internet sobre bebidas alcoólicas que vegetarianos e veganos podem consumir, e gostaria de saber se você poderia me fornecer informações sobre a [BRAND NAME].
Seu produto, [BRAND NAME], contém ingredientes de origem animal como leite, ovos, qualquer tipo de carne ou mel? No processo de filtração, são utilizados outros produtos provenientes de animais como gelatina, osso carbonizados (bone char) ou cola de peixe (isinglass - obtido do esturjão)?
Muito obrigado.
[YOUR NAME]
(Thanks to Tiago for the Portuguese translation!)
Italian:
Salve, sto aiutando ad aggiornare un elenco online di alcohol vegetaliano, e spero che possiate fornirmi qualche informazione (Nome della Marca)
[BRAND NAME] contiene alcun ingrediente animale (come latte, uova, miele, ecc.), o vengono usati prodotti animali per il trattamento o la filtrazione dei prodotti (come caseina, isinglass, gelatina, ecc.)?
Grazie,
[YOUR NAME]
(Thanks to Jan for the Italian translation!)
The Response
If the company responds that everything's vegan friendly, be sure to thank them and let them know how important this is to you!
If, on the other hand, the company isn't totally vegan friendly, it can help to send them a polite reminder. Here's an example you can use:
Thank you for the response. I am very disappointed to hear that you use animal products in your products. While I understand that these ingredients may not be present in the final product, I wish to avoid products that use these ingredients at all, as do many others.
My understanding is that there are fining alternatives that do not utilize animal products, as evidenced by the wide variety of vegan-friendly companies listed on http://www.barnivore.com. Many wineries, breweries, and distillers are now using these techniques, and I would encourage you to look into these alternatives so that we can enjoy your wines in the future.
(Thanks to Jennifer for the idea and the initial draft of this response!)
...and the response in Italian (thanks, Jan!)
Grazie per la sua risposta. Mi dispiace molto apprendere che usate prodotti animali nei vostri prodotti. Mentre capisco che questi ingredienti potrebbero non essere presenti nel prodotto finale, desidero evitare completamente tutti i prodotti che usano questi ingredienti, come anche molte altre persone.
Credo che esistano metodi di processazione alternativi che non usano prodotti animali, come si puo' vedere nella grande varieta' di compagnie vegetaliane elencate su http:///www.barnivore.com. Molti vigneti, birrerie e distillerie adesso usano queste tecniche, e vorrei incoraggiarla ad informarsi su queste alternative, cosi che noi tutti possiamo godere dei suoi prodotti nel futuro.
