geek posted something a while back about some UK chocolate bars switching to a non-vegetarian recipe with Mars’ proposed inclusion of rennet in their bars. In what some would call a positive move, Ange notes that the Mars folks have changed their mind and will be keeping the bars vegetarian friendly, after recieving something like 6000 comments in a week’s time.
Of course, the chocolate bars will continue to be non-vegan, and in all likelihood, the net animal loss will remain about the same – rennet is extracted from calves’ stomachs, and these are the same calves who aren’t growing up to produce milk for the chocolate, what with being born male and all. The only real difference is at the consumption level, which would lead to a purely health-oriented argument about diet, which seems mildly silly when discussing chocolate bars.
Now, the reason the company made the change of heart in the first place has a lot to do with the fact that there are 3 million vegetarians in the UK (I don’t have a source for that, but that’s what the managing director of Mars UK believes), which can actually be measured into a meaningful percentage of a customer base, as opposed to vegans, who represent a fringe group at best in most major markets. Maybe it’s time to focus on redefining vegetarianism?
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