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At one point or another, you've probably heard the old saying
about "sending horses to the glue factory"

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when they get old and sick. Jokes about making horses
into glue pop up in places like the Simpsons,

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and—shockingly—copious internet memes.

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So if you've ever wondered if glue really is made
from horses, you're not alone.

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And if you've ever tried Googling it,
get ready to hear an entirely different answer.

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From the myths and facts about horse 
glue, to vegan glue options,

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to how to tell if a product contains animal glue, 
I'm here to guide you through this sticky subject.

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Hi, it's Emily from BiteSizeVegan.org, 
where you can find free resources, eCourses,

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kids' content, and a Guided Search 
to help you find just what you need,

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even if you don't know what to ask!

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All my sources and additional info
are available in this video’s article,

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where I cover significantly more information 
than we're going to go through in the video.

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So, to dive in deeper, go to bitesize.link/IsGlueVegan

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So, is glue made from horses? Well, horse skin, bones, connective
tissues, and hooves can be used to make glue.

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However, while countless blog posts around the internet

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claim that horses have been
made into glue for thousands of years,

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I could not find any solid evidence that horses
were ever used more than any other animal.

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In fact, horses were not even directly mentioned in any of the
academic, industry, and historical-minded sources I read.

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This is not to say that glue has never
been made from horses—it has.

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In fact, it's entirely possible that parts of horses 
slaughtered in today's horse meat industry

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are used to make animal glue. But the idea that 
animal glue was—or is—primarily made from horses

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is most likely a myth, overblown stereotype or—my 
personal guess—a manifestation of speciesism.

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If you're not familiar, "speciesism" is “a 
prejudice or attitude of bias in favour

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of the interests of one species and 
against those of other species.”

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A simplified example is how
we love dogs but eat pigs.

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Speciesism presumes that humans determine
the inherent value of other sentient beings.

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In regards to this topic, our human bias for 
horses over those beings we deem "food animals"

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became extremely apparent when I compared
keyword research (meaning what people Google)

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to academic research (meaning reality).

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This may sound boring, but stick with me for a moment.

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Pun intended.

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As of this video, the phrase "is glue made from 
horses" is searched for 5,000 times a month,

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while the phrase "is glue made from cows" 
receives 60 searches a month.

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Even more telling, the phrase "is glue
made from pigs" returned no data at all.

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Yet, the reality is that most animal glue is made from
cows and pigs slaughtered in the meat and dairy industries.

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For an idea of the disparity, in the same year 
that 138,000 horses from the United States

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were sent to slaughter, 34.2 million cows and 
110.3 million pigs were killed in the US alone.

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But, if you want clicks, you have to talk 
about what—or whom—humans care about,

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which only continues to reinforce 
the valuing of some lives over others

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—further pushing into obscurity 
the sentient beings we most exploit.

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To learn about other false horse glue claims, 
the state of horse slaughter in the US,

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and what happens to unwanted horses, 
please see the article for this video.

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So, if not horses, what IS
glue made of? And is it vegan?

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These days, most glues you'll encounter are
synthetic rather than animal-derived.

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So yes, most glues are vegan. But animal glues and 
glues of animal origin are still manufactured.

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While you would most likely know 
if you were purchasing hide, bone,

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or fish glue in their pure form, you're more 
likely to encounter glues made from animals

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within finished products like shoes, cosmetics, 
and musical instruments. Later on in this video,

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we'll address how to tell if a product 
is made with glues of animal origin.

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The history and modern technology of 
adhesives is more vast and complex

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than I could possibly hope to cover. So, 
without breaking YouTube with a multi-day

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adhesive treatise, let's explore 
a (very) abridged history of glue.

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Glue is nothing new. Perhaps the oldest 
evidence of glue is a plant-based birch bark adhesive

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dated back to the Middle Palaeolithic period.

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In fact, birch bark glue may be the first known synthetic 
material our ancestors ever created.

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Possibly the first known usage of animal 
glue dates back to over 8,000 years ago.

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Early Egyptians used a range of glues 
of both plant and animal origin,

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and the Greeks and Romans further 
refined and developed adhesives.

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Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder wrote 
rather extensively about adhesives,

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claiming that "The finest glue is made 
from the ears and genitals of bulls."

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Jumping ahead to the 1100's -
I did say this was an abridged history,

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the pseudonymous author Theophilus, wrote 
instructions for preparing a variety of glues,

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including those from fish bladders, 
cheese, animal skins, horns, and blood.

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Fast forward to about 1690 when 
the first commercial factory for

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producing animal glue from hides was set up in Holland.

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A flurry of glue patents were issued after the first 
(for fish glue) was granted in 1754 in the UK.

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The first animal glue factory 
was started in the United States in 1808,

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and by 1900 there were multiple factories 
manufacturing glue from a variety of sources.

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Up until the 1920s, most adhesives were 
either animal or plant-based in origin,

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but the development of synthetic 
polymers rapidly overtook natural glues.

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However, as glues of animal origin do 
still exist, we'll cover some of them.

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Before we get into specific 
types of animal-based glues,

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I wanted to note that nothing in my research 
has shown that animals are killed solely to make glue.

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Animal glues primarily use parts 
of animals slaughtered for their meat,

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or after their bodies give out from 
the demands of the dairy industry.

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However, animal glue cannot accurately be deemed

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"just a byproduct" of the meat industry.
With a multi-billion dollar global market value,

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there's no doubt that animal glue is a 
fully developed industry all its own.

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So, animal glue—like leather—is 
a coproduct rather than byproduct

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of the meat and dairy industries. To 
learn more about what a coproduct is,

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check out my video and article "Is 
Leather a Byproduct of the Meat Industry?"

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“Animal glue” technically refers to glues 
derived from mammalian collagen and keratin..

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The most prominent animal glues are those made 
by extracting the collagen from animal skins,

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bones and connective tissues through boiling.

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Collagen is a fibrous structural protein present in the 
extracellular matrix and connective tissue of animals.

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It's sometimes referred to as 
the "glue" that holds the body together.

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Gelatin is essentially denatured collagen and is

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"the purified active ingredient of any collagen-derived glue."

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Hide glue—made specifically from animal skins
—is said to be of higher quality than bone glue.

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Most hide and bone glue is produced from cows and pigs
slaughtered for their meat or after their bodies give out.

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Rabbit skin glue is just what it 
sounds like—glue made from rabbit skin,

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though other small mammals are sometimes included.

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Less widely used animal glues are those made 
from extracting keratin—another structural protein

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—by boiling hooves and horns. Hoof 
glue is still used in some woodworking,

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though it seems more smaller-scale artisan 
woodworkers than commercial manufacturing.

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Other glues of animal origin that don't fall under

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the technical term "animal glue" include 
fish, casein, shellac, and albumin glues.

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Fish glue can be produced from the skin of 
"non-oily" fish, along with their bones,

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or from isinglass, a form of collagen 
procured from the swim bladders of fish.

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Isinglass is more commonly used in the fining of some wine and beer.

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See my article and video 
"Is Alcohol Vegan?" to learn more.

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While Isinglass and fish glue may seem like niche products,

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the impact of the global fishing industry 
is a threat to all life on this planet.

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See my mini documentary "Empty Oceans" to learn more.

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Casein is a protein found within milk,

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and is originally what Elmer's glue was made with.

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Casein glue is what Theophilus referred to in 
his 12th century writings as "the glue of cheese."

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You may be more familiar with shellac as a finish for wood,
or the shiny coating on candy and some fresh fruit.

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Secreted from the female lac beetle, shellac is a resin

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that can also be used for adhesive purposes, 
though its usage has declined due to its cost.

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As we learned in the brief history of glue, blood 
albumin - a protein, and egg albumen

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- what we call "egg whites", have been used to make glue, 
and may still be used in limited applications.

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As I mentioned earlier, animal glue is 
still used in some modern manufacturing.

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The best way to know if a product contains 
animal glue—or any animal-derived ingredients,

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byproducts or coproducts—is to contact the company.

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I will say that this can be a frustrating—if not 
fruitless—endeavor depending on the company.

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If in doubt, see if there is an alternative product that you can verify,

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but don't lose yourself in tracking down 
every adhesive in every product.

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Oftentimes, the information isn't even available.
When it comes to necessary prescriptions that may contain gelatin,

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please refer to my video and article "Is Medication Vegan?"

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Overall, focus on the big things.
When buying actual glue, buy vegan.

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These days, you kind of have to make an effort not to!

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As we learned in our abridged history,

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the first known glue was entirely plant-based. 
Long before the advent of synthetic glues,

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natural adhesives were made from a variety 
of non-animal sources. While most commercial

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glues are now petroleum-based, natural 
plant-based glues are still in use today.

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There is a developing interest in (re)expanding

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the usage of bio-based polymers for their 
environmental advantages over synthetics:

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they're biodegradable, non-toxic, and 
are said to have lower carbon footprints.

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Starch is an inexpensive and abundant 
natural polymeric carbohydrate found in plants.

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Dextrin is simply starch that's been further processed.

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For adhesives, starch is most commonly derived 
from maize, corn, potatoes, rice, and wheat.

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Starch glues are commonly referred to 
as "paste," and are widely used in bonding paper

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products as well as in textiles. Due to their 
many advantageous attributes over synthetics,

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starch and dextrin-based adhesives still 
hold their own in a largely synthetic market.

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Cellulose is "the most important skeletal 
component in plants." In the glue-world,

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cellulose adhesive is use for such applications as wallpaper,

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window decals and apparently to secure the packaging of cigarettes.

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Natural rubber is sourced from certain trees and plants,
and used primarily in pressure-sensitive adhesives.

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While natural rubber is plant-derived,

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there is serious concern over deforestation, 
environmental impact, and sustainability.

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As I stated early on, the world of synthetic 
adhesive is far beyond the scope of this video.

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If you really want to dive in, feel free to read one or more of the
multi-hundred-page textbooks in my bibliography!

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At a very high-level, most synthetic glues are petroleum-based.

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So while animal-free, there 
are issues of environmental sustainability.

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Synthetic glues include everything from 
pressure-sensitive adhesives made with

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synthetic rubber, to two-part epoxies, to hot 
glue, to contact cement, and countless others.

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Rather than get lost in a chemistry lesson,

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let's touch on which major glue 
types and brands are vegan.

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Let's tackle the biggest one first: 
Elmer's Glue. Elmer's glue is vegan,

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though it wasn't originally. First produced by the Borden Company,
a conglomerate with its roots in the dairy industry,

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Elmer's was casein glue - made from milk.

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Despite the bull mascot on the bottle, it 
was never made with horses, hooves, hides,

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or other animal components. Elmer the bull is 
simply the "husband" of Borden Dairy's mascot,

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Elsie the cow. Modern Elmer's 
glue is entirely synthetic.

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Other common glues that are animal-free include:

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Super Glue, Krazy Glue, most eyelash glues 
- which is apparently a thing, and Gorilla Glue

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—a company which actually affirmed the 
inherent rights of animals when replying to an inquiry.

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For more specifics on vegan glues,
check out the article for this video.

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It's time to "stick" the landing of this subject 
- couldn't help myself.

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Here's the major takeaways:

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The myth of horse glue is likely driven by the
fact that we humans care more about horses

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than the cows and pigs most animal glue actually comes from. 
When it comes to buying glue, you're likely clear of animals.

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When it comes to pre-made products, 
do your best and find alternatives if possible.

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I hope this has been helpful.
To support educational content like this,

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please consider making a donation. To stay in the loop 
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Now go live vegan, and I'll see you soon.