Why don't vegans eat gluten or wheat?

Question

Many vegan products have on the label "Gluten free" or "Wheat free" so I was wondering if there was a reason for that.

Answer 1

That's just there in case someone is allergic.  Vegans can have those things.  People aren't talking down to you.  I read all the answers.  They are trying to help and I am too :)

Answer 2

Ummm... vegans do eat gluten. Gluten-free is a different designation from vegan. It's there on non-vegan foods, too.  

Answer 3

It's only there to alert people who cannot tolerate gluten or wheat that the product is ok for them. It has nothing to do with the fact that the item is vegan.

Answer 4

Gluten and wheat free foods are for people with celiac disease, not vegans.

Answer 5

no one is talking down to you, your just too sensitive. okay maybe i was talking down to you there... but anyways,  the reason that veg*n food says things like "gluten free" on it is because gluten is bad for your health and most veg*ns are health conscious; it's a 'marketing scheme' for lack of better words :)

Answer 6

"Gluten free" or "Wheat free" is not about being vegan.

You see, there are people out there with really very bad and weird digestive problems, due to their poor diet.  As a result, they cannot eat certain foods because their digestive processes cannot handle it for whatever reason to the result of various different symptoms and ailments, from gas, bloating, cramps, pain... you name it, somebody gets it from some kinds of foods.

Somebody somewhere discovered that products high in wheat (usually white non-organic highly processed wheat flour) cause more trouble than other foods.  So, removing it from their diet relieves them of a lot of these symptoms.  Of course these foods are not the cause of their problem, but hey, if they lack the commonsense to see this... then... well, oh well.

Answer 7

You heard wrong, vegan people do eat those things.

Answer 8

Of course they do. It's just that some people are allergic to wheat and gluten (Celiac disease) and this is sometimes comorbid (occurs together) with dairy allergy. So the manufacturers correctly assume that people who avoid dairy products due to an allergy, may also be avoiding wheat products due to an allergy.

However, non-vegan products are sometimes gluten free too. Some kinds of cookies come to mind. Once again, they target the group of consumers allergic to wheat and wheat products.

Wheat, soy, nuts, dairy and shellfish are the most common allergies. This is why many foods are required, for insurance purposes, to mention if they are free of these ingredients, and if not, whether they have come into contact with them or contain them.

If you are not allergic to wheat, gluten is very good for you. The proteins gluten, oryzalin (from rice) and zein (from corn) together supply nearly HALF the protein in the worldwide human diet.

Answer 9

        i think they do. gluten is in wheat rye , & barley not in any animal products

Answer 10

Vegans DO eat gluten and wheat.  Some people avoid both because they are allergic to them, have uncomfortable digestive symptoms from eating them, or have celiac disease and CAN'T them.  There are certainly gluten-free things that aren't vegan and the two don't have anything directly to do with each other.