Glue

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Adhering materials are called adhesives, glues, gums, pastes, cements, mucilage, epoxies, caulks and sealants.
The raw materials for adhesives may be sourced from plants, animals, or synthetics; they can be organic or chemical-based compounds originate from hides (animal), rubber (plant) or petroleum (mineral).
“Marine glue,” used to caulk or seal seams for waterproofing, consists of tar or pitch (from charcoal) and is not actually glue.
Paper straws are increasingly being used, following the ban on plastic straws, but few are aware that paper straws are made by rolling three layers of bleached waste paper and dipping them in glue. Glue is in fact inferior gelatine. Animal hides, skins, etc. are used to produce both.
Those who use these for sipping beverages are consuming non-veg substances indirectly.
Know more…

Glue

The word “collagen” comes from the Greek word “kolla” meaning glue thus highlighting the historical close link between collagen and adhesives. Collagen is found in connective tissues of animals like hides, bones and tendons. Animal glue is created by boiling and causing the collagen to denature and become soluble in water which is what makes it stick.

Adhering materials are called adhesives, glues, gums, pastes, cements, mucilage, epoxies, caulks and sealants.

The type of raw materials used for adhesives can be sourced from plants, animals, or are synthetic such as cyanoacrylates (superglue), acrylic, polyurethane, amine, epoxy and silicone. They can be organic or chemical-based compounds that originate from hides (animal), rubber (plant) or petroleum (mineral).
Adhesives are usually categorised according to the type of substance and method utilised for joining. The basic criterion is whether the substance adequately reacts with the two materials or pieces and the weld hardens significantly increasing its strength and durability.

Drying adhesives are typically a mixture of polymer ingredients dissolved in a solvent, e.g. white/craft glue and rubber cement. PVA (Poly-Vinyl Acetate) is a ‘synthetic’ resin white glue of mineral origin, e.g. glue stick in solid form used for sticking some papers and fabrics. Similar PVA glues are called tacky glue and clear glue. Whereas hot glue typically consists of a combination of polymers, resins, plasticizers, paraffin/microcrystalline waxes/oils and antioxidants. 

Marine glue used by masons to caulk or seal seams for waterproofing consists of tar or pitch (from charcoal) and is not actually glue.

Natural or bio-adhesives are those made from inorganic mineral sources or biological sources such as vegetable matter (maize/cornflour paste, agar/marine plants, algin/seaweed), starch/dextrin, gum Arabic of plant origin (acacia or gum tree), natural resins, rubber based adhesives, animal blood, skins/hides, bones, horns & hooves (collagen, albumin, gelatine/hide glue, even fish glue and isinglass), casein (non-veg or lacto-veg) mixed with lime (water-proof glue), or even a homemade flour-cum-water paste. Zinc sulphate is added as a preservative to extend the keeping quality of animal derived glue.

Glue is in fact inferior gelatine (no difference chemically) and is sourced and processed exactly in the same manner as gelatine. Rejected hides and skins, hide trimmings such as marks, snouts, ears, shanks, skin of slunk/unborn animals, tendons, sinews, horn pith, casings and loose connective tissues are used to produce both glue and gelatine. Glue being low-grade is comparatively dark in colour to gelatine, and has inedible uses such as adhesive in plywood, furniture, sand paper and gummed tape. Animal glue is used – although not always – by carpenters (wood glue and varnish), weavers (sizing for textiles), cobblers (joining soles, uppers, etc of footwear), luthiers (for joining parts of musical string instruments) and plumbers (water-resistant animal glue which is further processed or obtained from mussels and some other water creatures).

Most manufacturers prefer animal derived glue called vajjram or saras, over polymer because it is stronger and the cardboard on which it is applied does not warp. It is obtained in slabs (looks like hard dark cooking chocolate) and is cheap. The slabs are immersed in hot water to melt and the resultant liquid or hot glue is used. It is particularly used for book binding as in ledgers, and for sealing cartons of packaged food articles and boxes.

That’s not all one needs to remember in order to avoid animal derived glue… following a ban on the use of plastic straws, paper straws are increasingly being used, but few people are aware that they are made by rolling three layers of bleached waste paper and dipping in glue. Those who use them for having beverages are indirectly consuming non-veg substances.

In 2024-25 there was a sudden worldwide demand for tiger bone glue which was the reason why tigers were being poaching in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh too. Tiger bone glue is made by pressure-cooking tiger bones for 2-3 days resulting in a brown, sticky sap-like substance sold in the form of cakes. It is not used for sticking anything but is probably called glue because it looks like it. It is used in traditional medicine for muscle and bone ailments and as an aphrodisiac. In April 2025 Ghatiya, Ekki Lal and Surya, the 3 sons of Katni-based poacher Ajit Rajgond (notorious for having poached and smuggled 100 tigers in India) were found to be responsible for a global racket fuelled by high demand for tiger bone glue. Nevertheless, in June 2025 tiger bones seized from a poaching syndicate operating in MP’s Sheopur and Shivpuri confirmed 3 tigers had been killed along the Kuno-Madhav-Ranthambore corridor. 

Page last updated on 30/06/25

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