50 Percent of Supplements Contain Hidden Animal Byproducts. New Campaign Pushes for Transparency.

Approximately 50 percent of dietary supplements contain ingredients derived from animals, a new report reveals. Written by international animal protection organization Animal Save Movement and vegan supplement brand Terraseed, and backed by a coalition of animal welfare nonprofits, the report reveals that the supplement industry has a huge impact on animals , with more than 24 billion animals killed by supplements. every year. It also notes that there is a lack of transparency in the disclosure of these animal-derived ingredients.

Because it can be difficult for the average consumer to figure out where their supplement ingredients come from and how they’re made, the report’s authors sought to learn more about the $55 billion supplement industry in an effort to identify the main information gaps about its impact on our environment and animals. The report classifies supplements as vitamins, minerals, and botanicals, noting that there are a host of common supplement ingredients that are often derived from animal by-products. Additionally, the authors found that supplement companies generally do not disclose the animal-derived ingredients in supplement products or how those ingredients are obtained.

To create this report, the authors conducted extensive research and partnered with industry experts, animal rights groups, and the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements. The authors analyzed data of more than 79,000 supplements included in the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database. They found that the five most common supplement ingredients that are typically derived from animals are magnesium stearate and gelatin (made from the processing of animal byproducts from cows, pigs, and sheep); vitamin D (commonly derived from sheep’s wool); omega-3s (which usually come from fish); and bee pollen and propolis (collected from bees).

Animal products in supplements

The authors estimate that more than 24 billion fish and 18 million cows, sheep and pigs are consumed each year to make supplemental ingredients for the US market. While the report notes that this calculation is complex, it is based on an estimate of the proportion of all slaughtered animals whose by-products are used for processing, as well as the approximate proportion of the value of the by-product industry that is sold to supplement Business. Additionally, the authors’ research revealed that approximately 44 percent of all supplements on the market contain at least one of the two most common animal-derived ingredients (magnesium stearate and gelatin); however, with data limitations and product overlap, they estimate that at least 50 percent of supplements contain at least one animal-derived ingredient.

In addition to the industry’s contribution to animal slaughter, the report identified the industry’s impact on ambientnoting that it also creates 1.8 billion plastic pill bottles each year, and only about 30 percent of them are recycled.

“Many consumers are unaware that common ingredients, such as gelatin or magnesium stearate, are made from the fat, bones and tendons of pigs, cows and chickens,” said Maria Cebrian, founder of Terraseed and the Transparent Label Campaign. VegNews. “More than half of the supplements on the US market contain at least one animal-derived ingredient. For example, many capsules and soft gels are made with gelatin.”

The report also notes that fish make up the vast majority of animals slaughtered to produce supplements, primarily in the production of fish oil for Omega 3 supplements “Fish are killed in large numbers to produce supplements,” Cebrian said. “Actually, it takes up to 100 fish to create a single bottle of fish oil supplements. If that wasn’t bad enough, 54 million plastic supplement bottles also end up in the ocean, damaging marine ecosystems and killing millions of marine animals.”

Lack of Transparency in the Supplement Industry

The report is part of Transparent Label Campaign, run by Terraseed, the Animal Save Movement, and supporting organizations including BeVeg, Social Compassion in Legislation, Seed (Strategies for Ethical and Environmental Development), Naturally Boulder, and more. The campaign calls on the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to include a section on the “Supplement Facts Label” of complementary products that clearly indicates whether a product includes ingredients derived from animals.

Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), manufacturers and distributors of dietary supplements and ingredients are prohibited from marketing products that are mislabeled or misleading. However, according to campaign information, research shows that there are minimal FDA inspections of supplement facilities, and no supply requirement on vitamin labels, so consumers have no way to know everything that goes into making the supplements they buy. For example, if a supplement says it contains “proprietary blends,” this could mean it may have animal products, fillers, or potentially dangerous ingredients.

“To stop animal suffering in the supplement industry, all key players must take responsibility: the supplement companies, the FDA, and consumers as well,” Cebrian said. “We all need to join forces to bring more transparency to an outdated and opaque industry and start talking about our responsibility to this planet and its animals.”

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nicole axworth is the news editor of VegNews and author of the cookbook do it yourself vegan.