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Do you have questions about being vegan? Send them
to Jo using this easy form.
She would be happy to address your individual concerns
as well as general inquiries about vegan ethics, philosophy,
practical applications, and living compassionately.
Jo cannot respond to questions about nutrition or
answer questions that have already been addressed in
the Archives
Jo will make every attempt to answer each question
personally, however, due to her schedule, this may not
be possible. If a reply is forthcoming, it could take
up to a few weeks, so please be patient. It is also
possible that your question will be answered directly
in the "Ask Jo!" column rather than an individual
response.
If you'd like to view previous questions Jo has
answered, visit the Ask Jo! Archives.
Is
Sugar Vegan?
 I
am trying to figure out why vegans don't eat plain old
sugar that you buy at the grocery store. Can you please
explain?
Half of the white table sugar manufactured
in the United States is cane sugar and the other half
is beet sugar. Beet sugar accounts for about 40% of
the world's sugar, and the United States is the third
largest producer. Sugar beets, which naturally contain
16 to 18 percent sucrose, flourish in temperate climates
where the soil is rich and the growing season is about
five months long. Thirteen U.S. states currently grow
sugar beets. Sugarcane, which contains 12 to 14 percent
sucrose, is a tropical grass and is grown in four U.S.
states: Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Texas. Both
cane sugar and beet sugar are considered to be among
the "purest" foods available because they are 99.9 percent
sucrose.
The primary distinction between cane
sugar and beet sugar, other than being derived from
different plants, is the processing method. Unlike beet
sugar, cane sugar processing typically takes place at
two locations, the sugar mill and the refinery. During
the final purification process, cane sugar is filtered
through activated carbon (charcoal) which may be of
animal, vegetable, or mineral origin. This step is unnecessary
for beet sugar and therefore is never done.
Over half of the cane refineries in
the United States use bone char (charcoal made from
animal bones) as their activated carbon source. The
bone char used in this filtering process is so far removed
from its animal source that cane sugar processed in
this method is deemed kosher pareve, which, according
to Jewish dietary laws, means that it contains no meat
or milk in any form as an ingredient. A number of vegans
disagree with this perspective.
Consumers cannot discern any differences
between beet sugar and cane sugar in taste, appearance,
and use. Beet sugar is frequently not labeled as such
-- the packaging may just list "sugar." Cane sugar is
more often labeled specifically, but not always. For
consumers wishing to differentiate, the issue has become
convoluted. Many vegans prefer to avoid white table
sugar altogether rather than chance using a product
that was filtered through bone char.
Brown sugar consists of sugar crystals
(cane sugar or beet sugar) combined with molasses for
taste and color. Confectioner's sugar (also known as
"powdered sugar") is white table sugar that has been
pulverized into a very fine powder and sifted.
Some vegans replace white table sugar
with unbleached cane sugar or dehydrated and granulated
cane juice, both of which are available in natural food
stores. Most of these products can replace white sugar
measure for measure for general use (such as on cereal
or in beverages) and in recipes. These products are
typically darker in color than white table sugar --
ranging from light amber to rich brown -- due to their
naturally higher molasses content. This can sometimes
alter the flavor of recipes and may also affect the
color of the finished product.
Unbleached cane sugar is considered
by some to be more healthful than white table sugar.
Although it may contain minimal trace nutrients, one
would have to eat massive quantities of this sugar in
order to obtain any reasonable nutrititive value. And,
of course, there are numerous drawbacks associated with
the overconsumption of sugar including tooth decay and
obesity.
Nutritionally speaking, sugar is sugar
is sugar, whether it is white table sugar, maple sugar,
or a natural alternative. A 1948 federal law requires
all products sold as sugar in the United States to be
at least 96 percent pure sucrose, so even "raw" sugar
(sometimes called "turbinado sugar") is by law compositionally
close to white table sugar -- about 96 to 98 percent
sucrose.
Beyond the bone char concerns and health-related
issues, there are many factors to consider when purchasing
sugar and products that contain it. The vast majority
of sugarcane is not organically grown, and most sugar
plantations employ environmentally unsound agricultural
methods, such as heavy insecticide and pesticide use
and crop burning, which negatively impact soil, air,
water, and the health of the workers. Sugarcane production
is labor and energy intensive and utilizes large amounts
of fossil fuels in processing, filtration, packaging,
and transport. Plantation owners typically pay meager
wages and provide no benefits while workers are forced
to endure brutal, substandard conditions.
There are many reasons why vegans avoid
white table sugar, why some purchase only organically-grown
unbleached sugar, and why still others eschew sugar
products altogether. A prudent approach may be to reduce
our use of all types of sugar, including sugary processed
foods, and to train our taste buds to more fully appreciate
the natural sweetness of fresh and dried fruits, grain
sweeteners, and other whole foods. Still another option
is to purchase granulated natural sweeteners such as
maple sugar, granular fruit sweetener, and date sugar,
or to use natural liquid sweeteners such as pure maple
syrup, agave syrup, malt syrup, brown rice syrup, and mixed fruit
juice concentrates. These products are available in
natural food stores and many supermarkets.
Copyright © 1998-2009 by Jo Stepaniak
All rights reserved.
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