Yeah... I had a feeling they were not vegan for a long time, there were a few articles out before this on this issue. This is why I don't follow PETA guidelines..
I didn't read the article, but that's a bummer.
No they obviously aren't the healthiest food, despite being vegan, but it was cool to think that they were
Actually, it's only white "pure cane sugar" that is processed with bone char. Products made with "pure cane sugar" tend to brag about it on the packaging somewhere because it is more expensive that the cheaper sugars, like beet sugar. Commercially, food processors tend to use the cheaper non-cane sugars.
At my local grocery store, the big cheap 5lb bags of white sugar are divided into two sections: "sugar" or for .10 cents more you can buy "pure cane sugar."
You can't make assumptions about ingredients that can go either way. Look on the packaging for the "Questions/comments" hotline number or website address, and contact them directly, asking about what kind of sugar they use.
Actually, it's only white "pure cane sugar" that is processed with bone char. Products made with "pure cane sugar" tend to brag about it on the packaging somewhere because it is more expensive that the cheaper sugars, like beet sugar. Commercially, food processors tend to use the cheaper non-cane sugars.
At my local grocery store, the big cheap 5lb bags of white sugar are divided into two sections: "sugar" or for .10 cents more you can buy "pure cane sugar."
You can't make assumptions about ingredients that can go either way. Look on the packaging for the "Questions/comments" hotline number or website address, and contact them directly, asking about what kind of sugar they use.
Yep, and I read on another forum that someone claiming to be in the sugar industry says unless it is labeled "pure cane sugar", then it is most likely beet sugar or a mix of beet and cane sugar.
Country choice is a brand of sandwich cookies that doesn't use palm oil, and I guess the sugar is organic too, which I think means no bone char? I don't sweat the bone char thing though.
It's only complicated if you let it be.
You already know the basics.
You'll discover hidden ingredients as you go along. After three years I still go WTF to a food I've been eating this whole time. And, I discover that certain things I always assumed weren't vegan, turned out to be vegan after all.
Anyways, do yourself a favor and don't sweat the small stuff all at once. It's a learning process.
It's only complicated if you let it be.
You already know the basics.
You'll discover hidden ingredients as you go along. After three years I still go WTF to a food I've been eating this whole time. And, I discover that certain things I always assumed weren't vegan, turned out to be vegan after all.
Anyways, do yourself a favor and don't sweat the small stuff all at once. It's a learning process.
Someone may want to write to Nabisco again and ask to see if anything has changed. This blog/article is over a 1 1/2 years old.
Also not all cane sugar is processed with bone char. I had done a blog on this site in the past which listed some of the larger sugar companies that didn't use bone char such as C&H Sugar.
It's so silly to be concerned about sugar being bone charred or not. Check out the article from Vegan Outreach posted about this subject a few years ago. Oreos ARE vegan, but perhaps aren't the best ethical choice considering palm oil. However, it's cool to show off what vegans can eat by scarfing down some oreos in front of nonvegans.
Is it wrong that I'm kind of glad that (if) Oreos aren't really vegan? One more unhealthy/fattening thing I can cross off the list! That being said, I've told everyone they ARE, which makes me feel a bit silly.
According to the TRUVEGAN police, it's extremely difficult.
But there's another perspective that I find a bit more pragmatic and sane. We have to ask ourselves how our actions actually impact the world around us. You could make a reasonable explanation to how buying factory farmed eggs or milk directly hurts animals and sustains a cruel industry, but do you think they'd kill animals just for bone char to process sugar? I don't think they would. It's the same with film, or the fact that driving cars might kill insects, etc.
I don't think PETA's vegan guidelines take the possibility of bone char processed sugar into account. They include a lot of processed foods on their list (Swedish Fish for example) from companies that I would bet would not vouch for the veganitude of their sugar if asked.
I personally don't concern myself with the sugar in processed products, but to each his/her own.
According to the TRUVEGAN police, it's extremely difficult.
But there's another perspective that I find a bit more pragmatic and sane. We have to ask ourselves how our actions actually impact the world around us. You could make a reasonable explanation to how buying factory farmed eggs or milk directly hurts animals and sustains a cruel industry, but do you think they'd kill animals just for bone char to process sugar? I don't think they would. It's the same with film, or the fact that driving cars might kill insects, etc.
Wow, I didn't know you were qualified to comment on strangers' sanity! Or if a stance was sane or not. I don't really think people who avoid bone-char sugar are "insane."
How about they just take a different position or make a different choice than you? (oh, the horror)
Sugar is in so many mainstream products. And no mainstream company knows or cares about it. They won't certify whether it is veg*n or not because they can't. Large companies get their supplies from the lowest bidder.
If you are adamant about veg*n sugar, you will be limiting yourself to only true veg*n and organically produced products. You cannot rely on mainstream products at all. No more pasta sauces, salad dressings, pickles, ketchup, sodas, cereals, or bread from the big companies. You will be spending more money and looking harder to find food that you can eat.
It would be nice if everyone would just say "why are we trying to make sugar white?" and quit using bone char. But I don't think that's going to happen. I think consumers would be more likely to force soda companies to quit using food coloring than sugar producers to quit using bone char.
If you are adamant about veg*n sugar, you will be limiting yourself to only true veg*n and organically produced products. You cannot rely on mainstream products at all. No more pasta sauces, salad dressings, pickles, ketchup, sodas, cereals, or bread from the big companies. You will be spending more money and looking harder to find food that you can eat.
I've always figured the bone char thing was similar to cross contamination from deep fryer oil or whatever. It's pretty icky but more of an indirect byproduct of animal industry.
I buy vegan sugar for baking but I don't worry about processed foods because a) sugar is in everything and b) I haven't seen any evidence that being picky about sugar will have any positive benefits for animals
If I'm buying a bag of sugar I buy a brand that I know doesn't filter with bone char. But for sugar in pre-made foods or eating out I don't worry about it.
If I'm buying a bag of sugar I buy a brand that I know doesn't filter with bone char. But for sugar in pre-made foods or eating out I don't worry about it.
When you have kids and you see them try to eat bugs, your veganism gets a little more flexible
I eat oreos sometimes and I pack them in my kid's lunches sometimes because they're cheap, easy, readily available, tasty, good for trading with other kids, and 99.9999% vegan. I'm OK with that.
There is nothing that says there are vegan either.
They are not 99.999% vegan. They are either vegan or not vegan, depending on the sugar used.
From the moment there is animal-derived product in something, however tiny the amount, this something is 100% not vegan. Full stop.
It's the possibility that they are vegan that can be expressed as a percentage. When you buy oreos, there is a chance, 80%, 90% or more, or less (according to how often non-vegan sugar is used in the production of oreos), that they are vegan. If you are happy with taking the chance, fine by me. After all, that is what we all do when we buy processed food. Unless there's a 'suitable for vegan' mention on the package, there is always the possibility that at some point in the fabrication process some animal-derived product is used.
That's why I personally avoid processed food as much as possible without any mention of vegan suitability and prefer fruits to oreos or any other cookies, unless home-made, obviously. Fruits are cheap, easy, readily available, tasty, though probably not easy for trading amongst kids, I admit. But why trading food? My food is mine! No one touches my food!!! My Preciousssssssss food!!!!
That's why I personally avoid processed food as much as possible without any mention of vegan suitability and prefer fruits to oreos or any other cookies, unless home-made, obviously.
Where do you get your shellac-free fruit? Obviously you would consider shellac coated fruit to be not vegan.
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