Tis the season to stuff your face with treats: sugar cookies sparkling like snowflakes, Christmas cake that could double as a doorstop, and drinks so sweet they’ll make your dentist wince. But behind every corner of the dessert table, someone might be desperately googling like their life depends on it, trying to figure out if the cookies are vegan or secretly harbor butter.

If you have ever looked into the vegan diet, you may quickly realize that there are a lot of food items that are off-limits. Being a vegan means not eating food that comes from animals. However, different people may have different limits and definitions of veganism. You might be surprised to learn that, for some vegans, certain types of sugar are also on the no-go list – but why is that?

Veganism and sugar: what’s the deal?

When baking or sweetening your coffee, you’re probably using refined sugar. This sugar can come from either sugarcane or sugar beet, with 80 percent of all global sugar production coming from the former.

From a chemical perspective, the products from sugarcane and sugar beet are identical: both are crystallized sucrose. However, sugarcane products aren’t always vegan, whereas sugar beet typically is. The key difference lies in the refining process.

For sugarcane, the crop is cut down, crushed, heated, and cooled, resulting in sugar crystals. Beet sugar is naturally white, whereas sugarcane sugar has a brown hue. To transform sugarcane sugar into that sparkling white grain, it needs to be refined. Historically, some manufacturers have used bone char to do this.

What is bone char?

As the name suggests, bone char is a solid material made from the bones of animals – a byproduct of the meat industry. The bones are heated up to high temperatures and turned into a porous black structure, which is then used as a filter to bleach and whiten the sugar.  

While the end product doesn’t contain any bone or animal material, the fact that the sugar comes into contact with bone char makes some vegans uncomfortable.

The good news? Many manufacturers now use more modern methods, like granular carbon made from plant matter, instead of bone char.

How to make sure you’re not consuming non-vegan sugar

To avoid non-vegan sugar, always check the packaging. Many brands will indicate if their sugar is vegan-friendly.

There are also some sugars that are naturally vegan-friendly. They include:

• Beet sugar (as mentioned above) – there is no refining process as it is already white from extraction
• Demerara or raw sugar – these retain their natural color and don’t require refining
• Coconut sugar – derived from coconut and minimally processed

With your sugar facts in hand, you’re ready to whip up some festive treats that everyone can enjoy. Whether you’re team sugar cookie or team fruitcake (no judgment), make this holiday season sweet, stress-free, and full of flavor!