White Sugar (aka Refined Sugar) Is NEVER Vegetarian

White sugar (aka Cane Sugar, Sugar, Sucrose, brown sugar) is not and has never been a vegetarian food. Yet, almost all the Hindu temples in Singapore, Malaysia and India use white sugar in their prasadam. In point of fact, almost all the vegetarian and even vegan shops in Singapore have been using refined sugar, which is commonly called "cane sugar" in their cookies, biscuits, cakes and everything that is sold to the innocent vegetarian public.

The use of sugar is so widely prevalent that many have been given to understand that there is no additive in the form of animal product, and also somehow we are given the impression that the final product "sugar" does not directly come in contact with the animal matter, and hence there is no cause for concern. 

If you thought that "white sugar" comes from sugar cane…you were wrong! White sugar is neither vegetarian nor  Ever wonder how they bleach the sugar to make it white? Well, you are about to find out. If you like candy bars, you might want to enjoy your last one. Do you want to know where it comes from?

It is made from COWS…COW BONES. 

Because sugar comes from plants, it does not, therefore, mean that it is vegetarian or vegan. In many countries white cane sugar is filtered using bone char. Bone char is basically what it sounds like; the remnants from charring cow bones. The bone char is used for bleaching and filtering white sugar, which is not naturally white, to give it a bright white tint. In other words, sugar is not naturally white, and in order to reach that color, manufacturers process it using bone char. Even brown sugar and confectioner’s sugar is made this way.  In short, bone char comes from animal bones and this process gives the sugar its white color. As mentioned earlier, even brown sugar has the same problem, as it is simply refined white sugar with molasses added to it. 

More on Bone Char

Bone char, which is used to process sugar, is made from the bones of cattle from Afghanistan, Argentina, India, and Pakistan. The bones are sold to traders in Scotland, Egypt, and Brazil who then sell them back to the U.S. sugar industry. 

Bone char—often referred to as natural carbon—is widely used by the sugar industry as a decolorizing filter, which allows the sugar cane to achieve its desirable white color. Other types of filters involve granular carbon or an ion-exchange system rather than bone char.

Bone char is also used in other types of sugar. Brown sugar is created by adding molasses to refined sugar, so companies that use bone char in the production of their regular sugar also use it in the production of their brown sugar. Confectioner’s sugar—refined sugar mixed with cornstarch—made by these companies also involves the use of bone char. Fructose may, but does not typically, involve a bone-char filter. Supermarket brands of sugar (e.g., Giant, Townhouse, etc.) obtain their sugar from several different refineries, making it impossible to know whether it has been filtered with bone char.

Beet, Unrefined, Turbinado, USDA Organic, and Raw are all phrases that let you know bone char was NOT used in your sugar. Same goes for organic cane juice. Agave Nectar, Xylitol (birch sugar), Coconut Palm Sugar, Stevia, Maple Syrup (lard-free), Brown Rice Syrup, Fruit Juice Concentrates, Date Sugar, and Fructose are all VEGAN alternatives to sugar. 

If you buy organic sugar, this guarantees that bone char is not used. Also, there are many great brands that make organic sugar including Bob’s Red Mill and  Trader Joe’s. Similarly, if a sugar is labelled as ‘raw’, ‘unrefined’ or ‘natural’ it is also vegan-friendly. Some sugars in this category include coconut sugar and date sugar .