What’s The Deal With Sugar?
If you’ve been vegan for a while, you’ve probably heard that some sugar is not vegan. That’s because some sugar is refined through bone char, an animal product. Just as some wine and beer uses animal products during filtration, so does some sugar. (For the record, some wine and beer contains or uses animal products in other ways, too, not just in filtration.)
So how do you know what sugar is vegan and what sugar isn’t?
The safest way to be totally vegan is to avoid all sugar. If you want or need sweeteners, you can use other vegan sweeteners like agave nectar or stevia, both of which are healthier for you than sugar. Or you can use maple syrup, molasses, or rice syrup.
If you’re vegan for health reasons, or even if you’re vegan for the animals but care about your health, you should really consider avoiding as much sugar as possible. If you’re vegan for environmental reasons, you should probably dump sugar, too. Much of sugar production is done in a way that is destructive to the environment and since sugar is a luxury, not a necessity, concerned people should avoid it as much as possible.
I know it’s hard and I am certainly not one to judge. I have a sweet tooth more than anything. I never had a problem giving up cheese when I went vegan, but I have had terrible times trying to give up sugar and I currently haven’t succeeded. But just like going vegan, any lifestyle change takes time and work. So, I will keep trying and I hope you will, too. Let’s all remember that veganism is a journey, not a destination.
You can choose how vegan you want to be. You can go all the way as much as possible and be as vegan as you can be. And indeed, this is what you should do. But if you’re not yet ready to make that commitment, be 99% vegan (or 95%, 75%, 50%). Something is better than nothing.
If you don’t want to eliminate sugar completely or if you’re phasing it out, try to bake your own sweets. They’ll be healthier. And you can be sure of what ingredients they contain. You can use sugar labeled as “vegan” or any of the above alternative sweeteners. Vegan sugars are usually labeled as “unrefined cane sugar” or “evaporated cane juice” or “beet sugar” or “raw sugar.”
For packaged foods, start by looking for a vegan certification on food labels. If you find that, you’re golden (well, not entirely… some manufacturers lie, so if you really want to be careful you have to dig deeper). Corn syrup is vegan, so if you see that on a label instead of sugar, you’re good to go (in the avoiding animal products sense, not in the healthy eating sense). If the label just says “sugar” you can’t know for sure what kind of sugar that is.
For more information about sugar check out these websites:
- Grassroots Veganism: Is Sugar Vegan?
- Veg Family: The Great Sugar Debate
- Vegan FAQ: Is Refined Sugar Vegan?
- These Post Punk Kitchen forum threads:
This post was very helpful! Since I become a vegan, I stopped eating candy and chocolate that doesn’t say “vegan” on the label, just to be safe - I’m also not crazy about sweets anyway. But I was really curious to know more about it. Thanks!
Andrea N.’s last blog post..Paella de aspargos
I meant “since I became”. Sorry!
Andrea N.’s last blog post..Paella de aspargos
Very helpful. Thanks from a vegan since the last 17 years - we keep on learning.
i love to shop at http://www.wholeandnatural.com. they have all kinds of healthy and natural kosher food and snacks including agave syrup. the stuff is fresh and low prices.
seeya, debby
btw i used a coupon bldc08 try it