Because refined sugars made from sugarcane require bone char to achieve a clear white colour, most refined cane sugars are unsuitable for vegans. Some types of brown sugar also involve using bone char, such as those that are created by adding molasses to refined cane sugar to achieve the brown colour.
Most vegans consider sugar a generally acceptable food, but strict vegans abstain from refined cane sugars that are likely to have been processed with animal products. They can, however, consume vegan-friendly raw cane sugar, certified-organic cane sugar, and sugar made exclusively from beets.
Sugar comes from sugar cane and sugar beets, and the former is often made using bone char in the US. Sugar doesn't actually contain bone char, but it is used in the production process. Therefore, sugar falls into a similar bracket as some alcoholic drinks like wine, beer, and Prosecco.
If the sugar is labeled “organic” or “unrefined,” it's an animal-free option. To further help navigate the baking aisle, check out these six sugar brands that are vegan-approved. Good news: any brand of beet sugar is vegan, but you can find the Now Foods brand at over 1,400 health food stores across the US.
Yes, sugar is vegan
At the sugar refinery, the crystals are melted and ultra violet light or activated charcoal is used to remove any impurities. The crystals are then washed and spun in a dryer (called a centrifuge) to remove the molasses.
Because it is most commonly used for raw sugar, filtration is not done in the manufacturing process to produce it “raw,” so bone char is not involved.
The Australian sugar industry produces raw and refined sugar from sugarcane. Around 95 per cent of sugar produced in Australia is grown in Queensland and about five per cent in northern New South Wales, along 2,100 km of coastline between Mossman in far north Queensland and Grafton in northern New South Wales.
Woolworths white sugar is not vegan because it is processed using animal bone char. Bone char is a by-product of the meat industry and is used to filter and bleach sugar.
Popular animal-derived fining agents used in the production of wine include blood and bone marrow, casein (milk protein), chitin (fiber from crustacean shells), egg albumen (derived from egg whites), fish oil, gelatin (protein from boiling animal parts), and isinglass (gelatin from fish bladder membranes).
Granulated or white sugar comes from the stalks of sugarcane, which makes it vegetarian, but the mixing of this processed sugar with animal bone char to give a perfect white colour changes the entire game, which is why vegans around the world consider refined sugar to be a non-vegan food product.
Honey is by definition not vegan, since it a bee product, and bees are animals. Here's a nuanced article about how the ethical issues surrounding this sweetener fit into the broader concept of vegan living.
So, is Cane Sugar Vegan? Since animal-derived bone char is used to refine cane sugar, it is often considered to be a non-vegan product. However, only the refined variety of cane sugar is typically non-vegan. The other varieties of cane sugar (organic, unrefined, natural or raw) are vegan friendly.
The main ingredients in Coca-Cola are carbonated water, sugar, food coloring (to get that signature brown look), phosphoric acid, and caffeine. None of these are derived from animals, so this means that Coke is vegan.
Although sugar in itself is vegan considering it comes from sugarcane plant, the manufacturing process involves the use of animal-derived ingredients – making it non vegan.
Modern technology has largely replaced bone char decolourisation but it is still used in a few refineries so one cannot be categoric about refined cane sugar being suitable for all people's points of view. It is not used in making white beet sugar and it is not used in making raw cane sugar.
Sugar that comes from sugar beets is considered vegan; the process does not involve bone char. The brand of beet sugar I often use is this one from Now.
The US McDonald's fries are not vegan, but the process still involves the highest FDA safety regulations. Besides the potatoes and salt for flavoring, the cooking involves vegetable oils like corn, soybean, and canola. They also have chemical preservatives and natural beef additives from milk and wheat.
Any beer that has been brewed with ingredients that are animal-derived, such as isinglass or gelatine as a fining agent, will not be vegan. Due to the fact that these ingredients are often not included on their ingredient labels, it can be difficult to tell whether or not certain breweries' beers are vegan.
This includes all Guinness drinks. What makes alcohol not vegan? Many breweries use a product called isinglass in the production of their beer. This substance is made from the swim bladders of certain fish and is used to make the beer clear, rather than cloudy.
Bone Char. Alas, it is the refining processes that is sometimes used (rather than the raw materials themselves) that can cause the issues for vegans. Specifically it is the use of bone char – the charred bones of animals – to filter out any material that would stop the sugar looking so white.
Most dark chocolate is inherently vegan. Superior quality dark chocolate only has a handful of ingredients: cocoa, (usually listed as cocoa mass and cocoa butter), sugar, lecithin, and sometimes vanilla.
Can vegans eat bread? Yes, vegans eat bread. Whole grain bread generally contains more nutritional value than white bread. However, it's worth checking that the bread you're eating doesn't contain dairy or eggs.
Product details
ALWAYS GROWN AT HOME Every spoonful of Coles Sugar comes from right here in Australia. For years, passionate Australian farmers have been growing sugar cane in the idyllic conditions along the sunny coastline from Queensland to New South Wales.
The cane sugar is the same as you would buy in a supermarket to use at home in cooking, tea, coffee or in other drinks. Around 80 per cent of the sugar used in our drinks is grown in Australia, mostly in tropical north Queensland and northern New South Wales. Coca-Cola Classic contains 10.6g of sugar per 100ml.
White sugar gets its color from a refining process that often involves the use of bone char, meaning even though it's not directly an animal product, it's not vegan. But don't opt for brown sugar, powdered sugar or even raw sugar.