These are ingredients taken from animals that have been killed for meat that turn up in products that you might otherwise assume were veggie, such as animal fat in biscuits. Gelatine is generally used as an emulsifier or thickening agent, and turns up in low-fat yoghurts, ice cream and confectionery. Animal fat refers to carcass fat and is used in the manufacture of margarines, cakes, pastries and biscuits. Suet and lard are types of animal fat. Rennet is an enzyme taken from the stomach of a slaughtered calf and is used to curdle milk to make cheese.
Vegetarian cheese is made from rennet using a microbial source.
Many vegetarians will only eat free-range eggs because of moral objections to the battery farming of hens. The Vegetarian Society only endorses products containing eggs if the eggs are certified as being free-range. This tells the shopper that the product is free from fish, flesh and fowl, slaughterhouse by products and battery eggs. 5000 people a week are making the best decision of their lives, dropping the chop and going veggie. Whereas small companies selling through health-food stores once were the only suppliers to the vegetarian consumer, now all the big companies are getting in on the act.