Cruelty-Free Sweeteners
You might think that sugar is perfectly fine for vegetarians – though not necessarily for teeth and waistlines. In fact, the most common types of sugar – white, brown, and confectioner’s sugar – are often filtered through bone char (which is made from the bones of cattle).
So if you avoid meat for ethical reasons, you should also avoid sugars processed with bone char, either by purchasing sugar from companies that do not use bone char, or by choosing sugar alternatives.
Sugar made without bone char
- beet sugar
- most organic sugars
- unrefined sugar
- Country Cane
- Florida Crystals
- Jack Frost
- Pillsbury
- Rapunzel (Rapadura)
- Rouse’s Markets
- Southern Bell
- Supreme
- Wholesome Sweeteners
Sugar alternatives
The nutritional value and taste of these sugar alternatives vary, but they are all suitable for vegetarians, and all but honey for vegans.
Notes | |
Barley malt | |
Blackstrap molasses | use 25-50% less, reduce other liquids by an equal amount |
Brown rice syrup | reduce other liquids by one fourth |
Date sugar | |
Fructose | |
Fruit juice | reduce other liquids by equal amount |
Honey | reduce oven temperature by 25 degrees and bake a bit longer |
Maple sugar | |
Maple syrup | reduce other liquids by half the amount of syrup used |
Raw/turbinado sugar | |
Stevia | |
Sucanat | good replacement for brown sugar |
Vegetarian and vegan substitutions for meat, dairy, and eggs