Is yeast vegan?
Yes, yeast is vegan. It’s important to note however that yeast is a micro fungus, and fungi are living organisms. You might think this excludes it from being vegan, but fungi do not have a central nervous system, and therefore cannot feel pain. If you were not exclude yeast from your diet on the basis that they are living organisms, you’d have to do the same with bacteria which would rule out pretty much all food. In summary, you can eat these little fellows guilt free!
What is yeast?
Yeast are single celled fungi. They are of the same family as mushrooms or moulds and are commonly used in the process of making bread, beers & cheese. There are over 600 known species of yeast and they can be readily found in the natural environment – known to inhabit soil, vegetation and also marine environments. If you’re wondering why you’ve never noticed them – it’s because they’re tiny. In fact it takes around 30 billion yeast cells to make up to one gram of bakers yeast. That’s a lot of yeast!
Interestingly yeast get their energy by eating organic substances, much like humans or Animals – as opposed to plants who get their energy from absorbing light.
Should i feel bad for eating yeast?
No. As mentioned above, whilst yeast are considered living organisms they have no central nervous system. They cannot feel or experience pain.