Can I give homemade raspberry jam to a vegan friend?

[Secretsquirrelshh]

Interesting ethical question. Our raspberries in our garden have done well this year. I always soak them before freezing them and then making jam when I have enough.

Sometimes when I'm soaking them, tiny white wriggly insects come out - I'm assuming some sort of fruit fly larvae, and I don't expect for a second every single larva is out (but it makes me feel better that I've done something rather than nothing). I think I accept that there will probably be a few larvae and it's best just not to think about it too much.

I was planning on giving a jar of my raspberry jam to my vegan friend, but can I do this in good conscience, knowing that there may be a little bit of insect protein in there?

Does your vegan friend garden? And if so, do they kill garden pests?

No - she lives in a flat. But also of course I realise that my raspberries are probably not the only foodstuff that contains tiny insects. But because I know about them - does that make it different?

Yes of course you can. Shop bought jam doesn’t have a guarantee that there are no insects in the fruit, which vegans will know or should know. The definition of veganism is to avoid animal products as far as is possible and practicable. That’s the key part. Otherwise you’d never eat any fruit or veg incase there was an insect fragment within it that you didn’t notice.

Seriously, is she really that military about it?

Surely one of the main reasons to be vegan is to avoid supporting the meat and dairy industries and reduce the demand for those products. Your friend is still doing that.

Don’t we all swallow flies when going for a walk?

Is your gelatin vegan?

I don't know how militant she is about it - but I felt because I knew there were likely to be insect parts in it, and I knew she didn't believe in taking lives for food, that I had a moral responsibility to either let her know or not give her the jam.

Retrospectively, I think I've over-thought it!

There is no gelatine in jam.

No gelatine required for making jam (usually it's pectin).

Raspberry jam doesn't even need pectin as the raspberry seeds have it naturally.

I would just ask her

Hmm. Interesting quesion. Presumably that's a risk with factory made rasberry jam too?

How do vegnas feel about insecticides and other pest controls for all the plant based foods they have, whether home grown or other wise?

As long as the raspberries are whole and you haven't bashed them in....
*I'm vegetarian and try hard to be vegan when I can. I'd eat your jam op.

Are we worried about cruelty to raspberries now too? 😂

I'm veggie and moving towards veganism. My objective is to stop supporting the industries that are involved in the production of meat and dairy. I don't feel ( for myself) any ethical conflict in accidentally eating a bug. 😊

We do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

@SweetDreamsAreMadeOfFizz and @Jk987 have given concise explanations.

You don't use gelatin to make jam

I sometimes stir a bit of butter in at the end to get rid of scum, I'd want to be sure I hadn't done that!

Otherwise I wouldn't worry.

Yes of course you can.

A small amount of insect contamination is practically unavoidable in the fruit and veg chain.

Help, there’s a cockroach in my coffee! 16 gross ingredients hidden in your favourite foods | Life and style | The Guardian

Enjoy!

You’ve very obviously never made jam.

This is completely fine- vegans know that homegrown fruit and veg involves the risk of encountering insects. I'd far rather risk a fragment of insect in some jam than a load of pesticides.

I'd ask her. I'm vegetarian and DH is now vegan after years of just having a tiny bit of milk in his tea as his sole animal product. I don't think either of us would be bothered. It also shows you are taking it seriously, unlike the family members of mine who think 'ham shavings don't count' or 'chicken stock doesn't count'.

I am a vegan. I dont WANT to eat a bug. Eew.

Just tell her and let her make her own decision, surely?

Unless she's very dim she'll know that all the food she eats involved insect death along the way. It's impossible to avoid.

Veganism is to exclude cruelty to animals and animal exploitation as far as is possible and practicable. It is inevitable some animals, like bugs, will come to harm / end up in the food chain if you're eating food that comes from nature. Let her know, but I'm sure it will be fine, most of us with half a brain cell understand this.

I'd say it's fine, unless you used honey rather than sugar.