Is brown sugar vegan?

Would you have ever said that cane sugar is not exactly vegan, while beet sugar is? The cane sugar industry, in fact, uses animal coal for its refining and discoloration. This sweetener, to be honest, contains nothing animal, but waste materials of animal origin are used in the production process

Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerous

Would you ever have said that thereor brown sugar it is not strictly vegan, while that of beetroot yes? The cane sugar industry, in fact, for its own refining and bleaching uses animal coal. This sweetener, to be honest, does not contain anything animal, but waste materials of animal origin are used in the production process.

How is animal coal born? The bones are heated at a temperature between 400 and 500 ° C in an oxygen-poor atmosphere in order to control combustion in relation to the adsorption capacity of the final product as a water defluorant or to eliminate heavy metals from aqueous solutions.

"Refined sugar contains no bone particles and is therefore certified. Charcoal simply removes the impurities from the sugar, but it does not become a part of the sugar ", refers Caroline Pyevich of The Vegetarian Journal. Certainly, however, this will not be enough to silence many people who live by extending to the maximum the ethical concept that lies behind the word 'vegan'.

So what to do?

READ also: Vegetarians beware! 7 common foods where animal fats hide

The top would be to be able to exclude sugar from your diet given the many side effects for health, but if you really can't manage to go without a little sweet and you don't want to run the risk of running intohidden ingredients of animal origin, these are the options:

Index

USE BEET SUGAR

Anyone who wants nothing to do with products treated with compounds of animal origin, such as recommends the Huffington Post, can choose it sugar derived from beetroot, which does not involve the use of animal charcoal for bleaching. Sure it is not the optimal solution for health, given the damage it can now cause. But maybe in emergency situations it can be a useful choice.

LAWS: Refined sugar: 10 scientifically proven reasons to limit its consumption

USE CANE SUGAR PRODUCED WITHOUT ANIMAL CHARCOAL

Plus, if it is true that animal coal is used to produce cane sugar, not all brown sugar is refined this way. In fact, some companies rely on alternatives such as granular coal, which does not contain animal products. Understanding the difference by eye, or by taste, is impossible. And even the label can't help.

Alternatively, therefore, it is possible to consult the list of the Peta and that of The Vegetarian Resource Group per know the certified cane sugars that do not use animal charcoal in their treatment. You can also write to the manufacturer asking for specific information on the type of process that is used for refining the sugar.

USE OTHER NATURAL SWEETENERS

Finally, even better solution, they can choose other vegetable sweeteners and natural (and preferably organic), such as malt, molasses or maple juice. Not only animals will benefit, but health as well.