UPDATE: Some Mars Chocolate Vegetarian, Some Not

After the recent announcement that some Mars brand candy bars in the UK would no longer be vegetarian, vegetarians voiced a very public outcry at this recipe change. Mars had planned to begin using a product called rennet that comes from the stomach lining of cows, but partially reversed their decision when faced with the unexpected public pressure.

As it stands now, Mars Bars, Snickers and Galaxy Bars will revert to being rennet-free in just a few weeks. However, the real news to come out of this (its news to me, at least!) is that several of their chocolate bars have not been vegetarian all along! These non-vegetarian chocolates include Twix, Bounty, Celebrations, Topic and Milky Way, at least in the UK. It remains unclear to me whether or not these chocolates conatin animal rennet in the US and elsewhere or not. The Vegetarian Society has more news on their website, and the Mars company has a list of which products are vegetarian and which are not.

It seems clear enough to me that stomach lining (called rennet and sourced from cows) has no place in a chocolate bar! What do you think?

If you're craving some real chocolate, free of stomach lining, hydrogenated oils and who knows what else, why not make some rich and creamy chocolate fudge or chocolate chip cookies to satisfy that sweet tooth? Can't wait for the cookies to come out of the oven? Try these chocolate peanut butter no-bake cookies.

Related Links:
Mars Candybars No Longer Suitable for Vegetarians in the UK
List of Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian Mars Chocolates
In the News: Mars backs down but leaves vegetarians baffled