Yes, I think when it's referring to "traces of" a particular thing, it means that it's manufactured on equipment that also handles that ingredient for other products. (Can someone verify the accuracy of this?)I believe the standard practice would be for the equipment to be cleaned each time it's about to be used to manufacture a new product.

The equivalent would be the food you order in a non-vegan restaurant. It's very likely that the same pots, pans, and utensils have all been used to handle animal products. I personally don't ask them to only use kitchenware that has never been used to make an animal product before. To me, the primary principle I operate with is supply and demand. I want to demonstrate to them that there is a demand for vegan products, not to demonstrate to them that vegans are a pain in the ass who ask for everything to be sterilized before cooking for them. I think the latter scenario is more likely to guarantee that you will have some animal products in your food - possibly human ones.

I digress. It seems to me that we're getting traces of animal products in our bodies all the time. We get them when we swim in oceans, lakes, streams (I prefer not to think about swimming pools). We get them when we ride motorcycles or convertibles. We get them when we shake hands with someone who had Carl's Jr for lunch and then later pick up a grape with that hand and eat it. The world is not made of Nerf. It has some sharp edges. Things are not sterile for our sake, nor should they be. But if by simply choosing vegan items, I can show business people that it's in their financial interests to make vegan products as often as possible, I want to do that. That may be the single most effective way that we can gradually bring about the end of animal products being used by humans.

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