Of sugar and bones

As I continue to read up on veganism, I've run across the controversy over sugar and whether or not it's vegan.  Sugar does not actually *contain* any animal products. However, since bone char is used during the refining/purifying process, the more "orthodox" vegans believe sugar is not vegan. After all, an animal must be killed in order to get its bones, turn them into bone char, and then use them in the sugar refining process. This animal killing would be contrary to basic vegan lifestyle, and using sugar would be condoning this practice.

The thing is, not all sugar-producing companies use bone char in sugar processing. So by looking at a bag of regular sugar, how would you know?

I came across a listing of companies that either do or don't use bone char in their sugar processing. Here's a listing of companies that make bone char-free sugar.  I was tickled to discover our local Texas company, Imperial, among the companies on this list! Then here's a listing of companies that have confirmed the use of bone char in their sugar processing.  Domino and C&H are two national sugar giants and they use bone char.    Now, when it comes to "store brand" sugars, I guess there's no way to know.

But white, refined sugar isn't exactly a health panacea in the first place, is it.

So in the vegan circles beet sugar, which comes out white after processing and hence doesn't need to be exposed to bone char, is acceptable. So are choices like evaporated cane juice, Demerara and Turbinado (a.k.a. Sugar In The Raw). And when consistency isn't a big issue and liquid is acceptable, agave nectar, pure maple syrup, molasses, brown rice syrup, and corn syrup are some of the perfectly good vegan options available.

So no, one doesn't have to give up sweetness when entering into veganism. :-)