November 1, 2017 is World Vegan Day. It is being celebrated for the 24th time. This makes it easy to see that the vegan lifestyleis more than just a fashion trend of the last five years in Germany and Europe. The international day of action, with events centered around the vegan lifestyle, first took place on November 1, 1994. The date was set to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the British Vegan Society. A campaign day always invites you to take a closer look at the topic. This also raises the question: is water actually vegan?
The vegan lifestyle
The Vegetarierbund Deutschland (VEBU) has been campaigning for plant-based nutrition and health since 1867. It is the largest lobby group for people in this country who are vegetarian and vegan. It was only reorganized with an international focus in April 2017. The new company is called
ProVeg
. So far, Germany, Great Britain, Poland and Spain have joined forces here. The organization is internationally oriented towards a conscious diet and plant-based lifestyle. According to previous statistical surveys, in 2017 there were around 0.84 million people aged 14 and over who would consider themselves to be vegan in Germany. Among vegetarians, there are around 5.7 million people aged 14 and over. Given this relatively high proportion of the population, it is surprising that the topic of water is rarely mentioned from a vegan perspective.
Tap water as drinking and industrial water
A vegan lifestyle is not limited to food and drink choices. In addition to avoiding all foods and additives of animal origin, including foods in which animals are involved in some form, such as honey, no everyday objects or clothing based on animal materials are used. This could be leather shoes, a wool sweater, a silk dress, a comforter or even some classic soaps for washing hands, which vegans do not use. Tap water is used in the household for cleaning and care as well as for drinking. However, there is no guarantee for vegan tap water in the strict sense for households.
Good water treatment thanks to microorganisms and fish
Although water is a purely natural product that occurs in nature, our tap water is treated so that it can be fed cleanly into households via the waterworks’ pipes. Although the water itself should reach the house connection without any animal by-products, microorganisms are used in the waterworks during treatment. Although microorganisms are tiny creatures, they do not have a central nervous system and therefore do not belong to the animal kingdom. They behave in a similar way to yeast cultures, which vegans can also consume in baked goods with a clear conscience. However, fish are sometimes used as a kind of early warning system in drinking water quality monitoring. Stadtwerke München, for example, has brown trout and char in its test tanks. Although these ensure the best possible safety for consumers, they could make a strict vegan think twice.
Tip for guaranteed vegan mineral water: There are some manufacturers who use the “vegan logo” on their mineral water bottles. These waters guarantee that the water is produced, bottled and packaged without the use of animals or animal substances. Strict vegans can drink this water without much research. However, this does not mean that other mineral waters that do not use the “vegan logo” cannot also be vegan. It is best to ask the manufacturer!
