Have you ever read a label and thought you understood exactly what you were consuming? Words like "natural," "organic," or "healthy" convey a sense of safety, health, and ethics. But the reality behind these terms is much more obscure. The food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries use technical codes, scientific names, and deliberate euphemisms to conceal the true origin of many ingredients.

We are surrounded by substances extracted from animals... some obtained through cruel methods, others disguised under neutral terms like "protein," "enzyme," or "wax." In many cases, these ingredients derive from the death of animals, the destruction of ecosystems, or the systematic exploitation of sentient beings such as fish, pigs, cows, and sheep.

This guide delves into 20 of these controversial ingredients. For each, we reveal its true origin, how it appears on labels, and why its presence, even in small amounts, raises serious ethical questions.

→ Because knowing what we are consuming is the first step to making more conscious choices.

1. Carmine or Cochineal (INS120): Beauty tinged with cruelty

Carmine is an intense red pigment extracted from cochineal (dactylopius coccus), a small parasitic insect. It is estimated that up to 70 insects are needed to produce just 500g of the dye, and for this the insects are dried and crushed.
This ingredient is found in candy, strawberry yogurt, beverages, cosmetics, and even coated medications. Most consumers don't realize that something so "colorful and fruity" is derived from insect blood.
🔸 The trap: hidden on labels as “natural color”, “E120” or “INS120”.

2. Casein: The protein that perpetuates the exploitation of cows

Extracted from milk, casein is used in the production of cheese, supplements, paints, and industrial glues. Its extraction depends on the dairy production system, which forces cows to continually become pregnant, separates calves from their mothers, and exploits the animal's body to the point of exhaustion.
🔸 The trap: appears as “milk protein”, “caseinate” or just “protein concentrate”.

3. Castoreum: The perfume that costs a beaver its life

Castoreum is an exudate obtained from the anal glands of beavers, used in perfumes and as a flavoring in some foods. Although rare today, it is still used by traditional perfumers. The animal is killed to remove the glands.
🔸 The trap: hidden under the generic expression “natural aroma” or “fragrance”.

4. Cysteine (INS920): An ingredient that is too human

Used as a flour improver, cysteine gives breads and pastas a fluffy texture. It can be synthesized veganally, but it's often extracted from bird feathers or even human hair, imported from China.
🔸 The trap: declared as “INS920”, “L-cysteine” or “flour improver”.

5. Collagen: Youth sold in pain capsules

Collagen is promoted as an anti-aging supplement, but its origins are rarely mentioned: slaughterhouse scraps, hides, tendons, and bones from cattle and pigs.
🔸 The trap: appears as “hydrolyzed collagen”, “collagen peptides” or “structural protein”.

6. Elastin: Firmer skin, obtained from cow spines

Promising firmness and beauty, elastin is extracted from animal remains such as bones, hides, tendons, and even cow spinal columns. It's commonly found in cosmetics and supplements, perpetuating the logic of the slaughter industry.
🔸 The trap: disguised as “elastic protein” or “regenerative complex”.

7. Squalene: The shine of shark livers

Found in moisturizers and luxury makeup, squalene is traditionally obtained from the livers of sharks, many of which are endangered. Millions of sharks are killed annually to obtain it. There are plant-based versions, but consumers rarely know which one they're buying.
🔸 The trap: described as “squalene” with no defined origin.

8. Gelatin: The invisible link to the slaughterhouse 

Gelatin is a ubiquitous ingredient in various processed products. It's found in candies, yogurts, desserts, medicine capsules, cosmetics, and even supplements. It's produced by boiling specific parts of slaughtered animals for a long time, such as bones, hides, tendons, cartilage, and connective tissue from cows and pigs. During the process, these parts are melted and transformed into a thick substance, purified, dehydrated, and then transformed into powder or sheets.
🔸 The trap: present as “gelatin”, “hydrolyzed protein”, “gelling agent”, “natural stabilizer”.

9. Fish Gelatin: Clarity that costs fish their lives

Fish gelatin, also called isinglass, is a colloidal substance extracted from the swim bladder (a buoyant organ) of tropical fish, especially sturgeons and tilapia. Its main use is in clarifying beverages such as wines and craft beers, helping to remove solid particles and make the liquid clearer.
🔸The trap: rarely declared on the final label, but when it appears, it may be disguised as “clarifying agent”, “natural gelling agent” or “marine collagen”.

10. Royal Jelly: The substance that sacrifices the hive to nourish humans

Royal jelly is a whitish, viscous fluid secreted by the glands of worker bees. In nature, it is used to feed larvae and the queen bee. Its production is extremely taxing for the workers, and to harvest just 500g of royal jelly, more than 1.000 hives must be manipulated.
The beekeeping industry directly interferes with the natural cycle of the hive: queens are frequently replaced, larvae are forcibly removed, and the natural environment is artificially controlled. This weakens hives and can contribute to bee population collapse.
🔸The trap: It often appears in supplements and cosmetics with a "natural" appeal, under the names “real nutrition”, “hive energy” or “bee milk”.

11. Shellac (INS904): Shine made of lives

At first glance, shellac, also known as Shellac, seems harmless... it's just a shiny coating that gives a silky, waterproof appearance to candy, fruit, medicines, cosmetics, and even furniture. However, behind its technical and discreet name hides an ingredient of animal origin, extracted through the mass killing of insects called Kerria lacca
🔸 The trap: present as "shellac", "INS904", "E904", "natural resin", "shellac", “natural gloss” or “edible coating”

12. Butterfat: The invisible fat in milk

Little known outside of the technical community, butterfat is an ingredient of animal origin that appears discreetly in various processed foods. Its name comes from butyric acid, which derives from the Latin word butyrum, which means “butter” and is no coincidence: it is a fat typical of cow’s milk, resulting from the fermentation process in the rumen (stomach) of ruminant animals.
🔸The trap: It appears disguised under various technical or generic terms, such as "naturally identical flavoring (butter flavor)", "concentrated butter", "milk fat", "butyric acid", "natural milk flavors"

13. Lactitol (INS966): The "diet-friendly" sweetener that carries the weight of the dairy industry

Lactitol is often promoted as a healthy sweetener. Its mild flavor and low calorie content have made it popular in the food industry. Lactitol is a polyol (a type of sugar alcohol) derived from lactose, the natural sugar found in cow's milk. 
Lactitol appears in a huge variety of “sugar-free” or functionally appealing industrialized products such as diet/light candies, chocolates and chewing gum, cookies, diet desserts, ice cream, diabetic products, tablets and medicines (in excipients).
🔸The trap: the industry often uses technical terms or codes that make it difficult to clearly identify their origin, such as “lactitol”, “INS966”, “E966”, “natural sweetener”, “sugar alcohol”, “polyol”

Plant-based alternatives to lactitol:

✅ Xylitol (of plant origin - usually from corn or birch)

✅ Erythritol (produced from fermented fruits or corn)

✅ Maltitol (usually derived from cornstarch)

✅ Stevia (extracted from the Stevia rebaudiana plant)

14. Guarina: Sparkle made of scales

Used in eyeshadows, highlighters, nail polishes, and lipsticks with a metallic or pearlescent effect, guanine is a substance extracted from fish scales, especially herring, which are washed, dried, and ground to reflect light in a shimmering way. Extraction is costly, both environmentally and animal-friendly, as it requires a large volume of scales per gram of final powder.
🔸 The trap: appears on labels as “natural mica” or simply “pearlescent luster.”

15. Lanolin (INS913): Pain-relieving moisturizer

Lanolin is a fatty substance extracted from sheep's wool, which accumulates on the animal's skin to protect it from moisture. Although technically a "byproduct," its production is closely linked to the wool industry, characterized by practices such as mulesing (painful removal of sheep's skin without anesthesia), aggressive cuts during shearing, and often early slaughter. Lanolin is widely used in lip balms, hand creams, nipple ointments, and baby cosmetics.
🔸 The trap: appears as “wool oil”, “natural emollient” or “sheep wax”.

16. Pepsin: Digestive enzyme that starts in the pig's stomach

Pepsin is a powerful digestive enzyme obtained from the stomach lining of slaughtered pigs. It is used in the food industry to "pre-digest" proteins, such as in the production of cheese, enzyme supplements, and infant formulas.
🔸 The trap: declared only as “natural enzyme”, “enzymatic yeast” or “digestive agent”.

17. Propolis: The resin stolen from the hive

Propolis is a resinous substance that bees produce from tree sap mixed with wax and saliva, used to protect and sterilize the interior of the hive against fungi and bacteria.
In the human industry, it is extracted on a large scale by beekeepers, removing a vital defense from the colony. The impact of this can compromise the balance and immunity of bees, which are already facing alarming population declines.
🔸 The trap: often sold as a “natural cure” or “biological defense.”

18. Keratin: Hair strength that comes from animal decomposition

Keratin is a fibrous protein found naturally in hair, nails, hooves, horns, and feathers. In the cosmetics industry, especially in hair straightening treatments, the commercial version of keratin is extracted from byproducts of the meat and leather industries, such as the hooves and feathers of slaughtered animals. Its production involves boiling or chemically decomposing animal tissue.
🔸 The trap: described as “fortifying protein”, “hair reconstruction” or “deep hair nutrition”.

19. Tallow: Soap made with cow fat

Tallow is a solid fat extracted from the abdominal fat of slaughtered cattle and sheep. Used in soaps, moisturizers, lipsticks, candles, and even ultra-processed foods like snacks and fillings, it is one of the most common animal-based ingredients in our daily lives.
🔸 The trap: appears as “tallow”, “stearic acid” or “vegetable base” (when mixed).

20. Silk: Delicacy that silences insects

Silk is produced by silkworm larvae (Bombyx mori) during cocoon construction. To obtain long, intact fibers, the cocoons are boiled with the larvae still alive inside, preventing them from emerging naturally and breaking the threads. Each meter of fabric can result in the death of up to 10 larvae. 
Despite the availability of alternative fabrics (such as mulberry or bamboo silk), the traditional industry still maintains cruel practices under an image of sophistication.
🔸 The trap: appears as “silk protein”, “luxury fiber”, “premium natural fiber” or “natural fibers”.

The cosmetics and food industries use technical language and numerical codes to mask ingredients that would be repulsive if they were clearly named. But labeling can be just the beginning. Questioning, investigating, and opting for products with reliable certifications (such as vegan or cruelty-free) is a step toward a more ethical and informed life.