And to those who don't: I don't trust you.
And for good reason. Think about the times you've been angry...now think about the times you've been upset or angry and had dessert...feel better, right? My parents would take me out for ice cream after an orchestra concert to celebrate. I'd get a cold stone cake for my birthday, and creamy flan when I felt down. True Blood's Sookie Stackhouse eats the last thing her grandmother will ever make: half of a creamy pecan pie. And how lucky was she it was pecan pie rather than chopped liver? Dessert makes everything better, and makes the good times great.
Of course, all of that was before I "woke up," as so many vegans like to put it (and it's quite fitting). I changed my diet, and I learned a lot. I also failed a lot. I ate almond cheese that turned out to have casein as a main ingredient. I ate gummy bears before I knew how they were made. I ate toast that had egg... the list goes on.
And a very big one I just found out about...sugar.
Yes, sugar.
Granted, not many desserts/snacks can be categorized as "vegan," per se, but many can. Here's a list of PETA's accidentally vegan foods.
Cane Sugar and the Bones that Make it Appealing
Cane sugar is made from cane stalks. Have you ever had cane stalks in your punch? I have. They're delicious, but you have to work to get the sweetness. Chew chew chew. That's how. Same goes for the sugar process. the cane stalks are chopped, shredded, and crushed.
According to scamsweet.com, "from there, calcium hydroxide is added to the juice and carbon dioxide is bubbled through the mixture, which helps to clarify the juice by creating insoluble calcium compounds. The calcium hydroxide also raises the juice's pH level. With the help of polyacrylamides, calcium compounds, muds, and other impurities are filtered out of the juice.
Next, the juice travels to a filter where it is treated with activated carbon.
After being filtered, the juice is sent through an evaporator to remove water, causing the juice to thicken.The juice is then sent to a boiler where it is heated in a vacuum and fine "seed crystals" are added to aid in the formation of sugar crystals.
Crystallization leaves behind a substance called "mother liquor" that will ultimately be made into molasses. To separate the sugar crystals from the mother liquor, they are put into a centrifuge. The final product is raw sugar, which is ready to be refined into white sugar.The refining process begins with affination, where the raw sugar crystals are melted into a syrup, dissolving the remaining molasses. Then the sugar is washed.
From there, the sugar is clarified and decolored--either with phosphoric acid and calcium hydroxide or with sulphur dioxide.
Finally, the solution is boiled one last time to concentrate it into white granulated sugar crystals."
It all sounds pretty innocent, but where does the bone char come in? In the whitening process.
The Vegetarian Resource Group published an article in 2007 about sugar companies and the use of bone char as a whitening process. The first article they wrote was back in 1997. Revisiting the issue 10 years later, the same companies using bone char continue to do so, only now they call bone char "natural charcoal."
"There are a few small cane sugar companies, but there are really only two large cane sugar enterprises—Imperial/Savannah Foods (Dixie Crystal) and Florida Crystals. Florida Crystals owns American Sugar Refining (Domino Foods) as well as the C&H Sugar Company, both of which now call bone char "natural charcoal."
According to VRG, if your sugar is labeled, "100% Pure Cane Sugar," it was most likely refined using bone char. However, sugar labeled as "100% Pure Beet Sugar," and organic sugar are most likely vegan, and therefore char-free.
VRG's Vegan Sugar List
Bone Char-Free Sugars Produced By U.S. Companies | |
| Company | Brand Name |
| C&H Sugar | C&H Pure Cane Washed Raw Sugar C&H Pure Cane Certified Organic Sugar |
| Cumberland Packing Company | Sugar in the Raw |
| Domino Sugar | Domino Demerara Washed Raw Cane Sugar Domino Pure Cane Certified Organic Sugar |
| Florida Crystals | Florida Crystals Demerara Natural Sugar Organic Evaporated Cane Juice (granulated and powdered) Golden Granulated Evaporated Cane Juice Florida Crystals Milled Cane Natural Sugar Florida Crystals Certified Organic Natural Sugar |
| Great Eastern Sun | Sweet Cloud Organic Raw Cane Sugar |
| Hain Celestial Group | Hain Organic Brown Sugar Hain Organic Powdered Sugar |
| Shady Maple Farms | Shady Maple Farms Granulated Maple Sugar |
| Tropical Traditions | Rapadura Whole Organic Sugar |
| Wholesome Sweeteners | Light Muscovado Sugar Dark Muscovado Sugar Sucanat (granulated and powdered) Organic Sucanat (granulated and powdered) |
| NOTE: 100% Pure Beet Sugar is not passed through a bone char filter. | |
So where does all this information leave us struggling vegans? When I found out about sugar and the process of whitening, I raced to my pantry and checked my sugar label. I use Zulka Morena Pure Cane Sugar.
I have for years. I don't think I have ever used a different sugar than this since my mother switched from white sugar to this less processed, but not quite brown sugar. Not quite convinced I was in the clear, I searched the website and was pleasantly surprised my question was in their FAQ section. It is vegan.
Q: Is Zulka vegan?
A: Some sugars go through a refining process which uses bone char to make it more white. We’re proud to say that Zulka is never refined and does not use animal products in any part of production
I was in the clear. Desserts were happy again. My safe place was mine again. I could breathe.
But what about the processed foods I eat, the foods I spend hours checking the ingredient list. The foods like Oreo Cookies whose first ingredient is sugar, but is listed as a vegan food even in the PETA website, what about those foods? Will I ever know? Should I cut out all processed foods and be content making my own? And what about those lazy days all I want is a fucking Oreo cookie and some almond milk? Should I even care about the bone char white sugar?
My answer is yes, I care. Will I cut out those admittedly unhealthy, but comforting foods that are in that gray unknown? I don't know yet. All I know is that a part of my brain is constantly working and thinking about ingredients and the possibility that I may never know if what I eat is truly, wholly vegan.
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