VG Ethics: Does It Really Matter?

[Caexars]

Vegetable glycerin are produced from 3 main sources: palm, coconut, and mixed vegetables.

The palm oil industry has caused unimaginable ecological destruction and as a direct result, the wild orangutan population is close to extinction (among many other species).

Other types of glycerin originate from a plethora of unidentified vegetable triglycerides which the manufacturer is not required to inform the buyer.

The most ethical glycerin is produced from coconut. The industry is booming and there is a great amount of attention paid to sustainability and most of it is fair trade. It is also the most expensive of the 3.

I'd LOVE to pay a bit extra to ensure that it's coconut-derived VG I'm getting, but that's just the nerd in me. Does all of this matter to you when you purchase your juice? Did it ever cross your mind until you read this post?

I'm very interested to know what y'all think.

 

[tybin]

I buy mine from our local community food co-op. They are pretty conscientious about the environment, so I feel the product I'm buying is going to be from a good source. It's pricery, but worth the extra money. Excellent point!

 

[David Bruno]

Vegetable glycerin are produced from 3 main sources: palm, coconut, and mixed vegetables.

The palm oil industry has caused unimaginable ecological destruction and as a direct result, the wild orangutan population is close to extinction (among many other species).

Other types of glycerin originate from a plethora of unidentified vegetable triglycerides which the manufacturer is not required to inform the buyer.

The most ethical glycerin is produced from coconut. The industry is booming and there is a great amount of attention paid to sustainability and most of it is fair trade. It is also the most expensive of the 3.

I'd LOVE to pay a bit extra to ensure that it's coconut-derived VG I'm getting, but that's just the nerd in me. Does all of this matter to you when you purchase your juice? Did it ever cross your mind until you read this post?

I'm very interested to know what y'all think.

I'd like to start out by saying that I'm a sportsman. I hunt, fish, but will add that I hunt only what I intend to eat. The outdoors has been a tradition passed to me and on to my sons. I will also add that I'm a animal lover. I feed a small deer herd every winter so they make it through our bad winters. No, I don't shoot those deer! I have rescued 3 dogs that have been with me for years. I also love and respect animals on the endangered list. If I can help it I won't buy products that threaten animal survival. How and the heck could you find glycerin made of coconut. The product I have says only food grade. It is very hard to narrow products down to which are animal and Earth friendly. I do try to be a ethical sportsman as well. All products should be required to list (exact) ingredients. Not just the stuff they want to disclose. I'm getting off topic here. I'm done!
Dave

 

[tybin]

well said dave

 

[supremekizzle]

I'm game, where do you buy coconut VG?

 

[tybin]

shudder. i'll just stick with the 100% vg at the co-op

 

[Caexars]

Well, it's very difficult to locate coconut VG but it is possible. Even ethical companies like Lush still use palm VG because it is just not economically feasible for them to track down and purchase ONLY coconut VG. We can also ask suppliers to make it possible for the customers to choose which kind of VG I suppose. Most VG suppliers sell only to product manufacturers. It sucks, I know!