Is Sugar Vegan?
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Is Sugar Vegan?
Sugar, found in the stems of sugar cane, and the roots of sugar beet. Vegan, right?
Unfortunately, there is a lot of sugar which is not suitable for vegans, and most of this generally depends on where you are in the world. I'm going to go into detail of sugar in England and sugar in America. The first thing we need to look at is why any sugar wouldn't be safe for vegans. This is all about the way in which the sugar is processed and refined. Bone char is widely used among sugar companies in America as a decolourising filter, which gives sugar its white colour (don't be fooled though, many brown sugars aren't safe for vegans either as they are just white sugars with added molasses). Bone char is made from the bones of cattle slaughtered in Afghanistan, Argentina, India and Pakistan. It is then sold cheaply to companies in America.
England
Sugar in the whole of Europe is generally safe for vegans, so I won't make a list of sugars which are safe for vegans. Big companies are generally a safe bet, as it can be easy to find whether they are vegan or not. Sugar company Silver Spoon have confirmed that all their sugars and sweeteners are safe for vegans apart from their Royal Icing Sugar which contains egg.
The only information available for Tate and Lyle is that their Raw Cane Sugar is certified safe for vegans.
America 
I'm not going to go into great detail about which American sugars are vegan and which aren't. I live in England so my knowledge is really quite limited. However, as far as resources go, I have scoured the internet and the only decent list of vegan US sugar companies and products I have been able to find is this one by Jeanne Yacoubou but it is a little dated.
One good tip to work off though is that ALL sugar made from 100% pure sugar beet is vegan, as it is never passed through bone char, so as long as you stick to sugar beet you'll be fine.
I've included a few links to vegan sugars available for purchase in America through Amazon. If you know of any more please get in touch and I'll add them to the list.
Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Cane Sugar
Big Tree Farms Organic Brown Coconut Sugar
Written by Amy Northwood
Her-Bivore
My passion for food and conservation has led me to where I am now! My aim is to show people that veganism can be diverse, tasty and adapted to fit every lifestyle and budget!
You can find me on Instagram